45 pro-democracy activists face wide range of sentences in Hong Kong

hong kong — 

Dozens of salient Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are scheduled to beryllium sentenced Tuesday successful the largest lawsuit brought nether a nationalist information instrumentality that critics accidental crushed governmental activism successful the semiautonomous Chinese city.

The convictions of the 45 activists nether the Beijing-imposed instrumentality are wide seen arsenic portion of a crackdown by China that destroyed hopes for a much antiauthoritarian Hong Kong. The imaginable sentences scope from a fewer years to beingness successful prison.

The activists were among 47 radical charged with conspiracy to perpetrate subversion successful 2021 for their engagement successful an unofficial superior predetermination to prime absorption candidates. They were accused of agreeing to veto government-proposed budgets indiscriminately aft securing a legislative bulk to unit a dissolution of the legislature and past the ouster of the city's leader.

Three government-approved judges ruled that the program to execute governmental alteration done the unofficial superior successful 2020 would person undermined the government’s authorization and created a law crisis.

Thirty-one of the activists pleaded blameworthy and 14 others were recovered blameworthy successful May pursuing a trial. Two were acquitted. Those who entered blameworthy pleas person a amended accidental of shorter situation terms.

Some of the convicted activists person sought lesser sentences by expressing remorse and apologizing. Others person remained defiant.

Here are profiles of immoderate of them.

Benny Tai

Riding connected a question of anti-government protests successful 2019, Benny Tai, a erstwhile instrumentality prof astatine the University of Hong Kong, co-organized the superior predetermination that drew 610,000 voters — implicit 13% of the city’s registered electorate. The superior was aimed astatine selecting pro-democracy candidates who would past tally successful the authoritative election.

The judges said Tai stated that acquiring a legislative bulk was a “constitutional limb of wide destruction" that would let the pro-democracy campy to veto authorities budgets. Under the city’s Basic Law, oregon mini-constitution, the metropolis person tin dissolve the legislature if a fund cannot beryllium passed. But the person indispensable measurement down if the fund is again blocked by the adjacent legislature.

The judges said Tai aimed to “undermine, destruct oregon overthrow the existing governmental strategy and structure” of Hong Kong.

Tai pleaded blameworthy to the charge. In seeking a shorter sentence, his lawyer said Tai ever supported nonviolence and believed his actions were legal.

Tai was not ever viewed arsenic a menace by authorities. He was a subordinate of a consultative committee that helped cod views connected the drafting of the Basic Law earlier the erstwhile British colony returned to Chinese regularisation successful 1997.

In 2001, the authorities awarded him a medal of grant for promoting civic education, though it was withdrawn successful 2022.

Tai is possibly champion known arsenic a co-founder of the city’s 2014 Occupy Movement, during which demonstrators occupied streets and stopped postulation successful immoderate areas for astir 80 days, demanding nonstop elections for the city’s leader.

Joshua Wong

Joshua Wong roseate to fame successful Hong Kong successful 2012 arsenic a precocious schoolhouse pupil starring protests against the instauration of nationalist acquisition successful the city’s schools. Two years later, helium became satellite celebrated arsenic a person of the Occupy Movement.

In 2016, Wong co-founded a governmental enactment named Demosisto with chap young activists Nathan Law and Agnes Chow. In the 2019 pro-democracy movement, Wong helped question overseas enactment for the protests. His activism led Beijing to statement him an advocator of Hong Kong's independency who “begged for interference” by overseas forces.

Demosisto disbanded erstwhile Beijing imposed the information instrumentality successful 2020. Wong won successful the superior election, but the authorities postponed the authoritative election, citing nationalist wellness risks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wong has pleaded blameworthy and asked for a lesser sentence. His lawyer said helium hoped “he could portion with his past and would beryllium capable to betterment himself” aft completing his sentence.

Wu Chi-wai

Wu Chi-wai is the erstwhile seat of Hong Kong's biggest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, which immoderate activists saw arsenic excessively moderate. In 2006, the authorities awarded Wu a medal of grant for assemblage service.

Wu entered a blameworthy plea, with his lawyer saying helium has been successful nationalist work for implicit 30 years and that helium and his enactment did not question indiscriminate vetoing of budgets. Three erstwhile authorities officials wrote letters seeking a reduced condemnation for him.

Wu's parents passed distant during his detention and helium could lone concisely be their funerals.

Gordon Ng

Gordon Ng, a dual national of Australia and Hong Kong, was initially named an organizer of the superior by prosecutors, an accusation Ng denied. He pleaded not guilty.

The judges acknowledged successful their verdict that Ng did not signifier the program and was not a candidate. However, they pointed to his run urging voters to enactment superior winners done societal media posts and a front-page advertisement successful the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, founded by Jimmy Lai.

In seeking a lesser sentence, Ng said his enactment for the superior was linked to his content that it could code the differences wrong the pro-democracy camp, which had agelong been plagued by infighting. He said helium ne'er asked candidates to committedness to veto budgets.