A court in Hong Kong has sentenced 45 anti-China instigators to imprisonment for “conspiracy to subvert the state power”. Benny Tai Yiu-ting was sentenced to 10 years in prison and the others to various terms of imprisonment.
The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region delivered the sentence after a hearing at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday. This is the first time the Hong Kong SAR has handled a case involving subversion of State power.
In January 2021, Hong Kong police arrested more than 50 people under the national security law in Hong Kong on the suspicion of organizing or participating in the illegal “primary elections” of the Legislative Council in 2020. Among them, 47 were prosecuted by the Department of Justice of the HKSAR government, including Benny Tai and some former lawmakers.
The case was first heard at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts from March 1 to 4, 2021, before being transferred to the High Court. During the trial, 31 of the accused pleaded guilty, while 16 refused to plead guilty. After multiple hearings, on May 30 this year the court found 14 of the 16 individuals guilty and acquitted two. On Tuesday, the High Court delivered sentences on the 45 individuals who were found guilty.
The trial is Hong Kong’s internal affair and demonstrates the SAR’s adherence to the rule of law. By planning and participating in the illegal “primary elections”, the 45 people conspired to subvert State power by organizing or participating in acts aimed at disrupting the HKSAR government’s duties through unlawful means.
The trial is an effort by the HKSAR to rebuild social stability. It sends a clear message that those who attempt to challenge national security and violate the rule of law will be punished by the law. It also helps maintain justice and legal authority in the SAR, ensures the independence of Hong Kong’s judicial system and safeguards national security and “one country, two systems”.
Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law, and no one can engage in illegal activities under the banner of “democracy” and attempt to escape justice. Some Western countries, on the one hand, ignore the fact that they safeguard their own national security through judicial procedures, while on the other hand making groundless accusations against the HKSAR for its implementation of the law on national security.