TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After a record four-day hearing, a court in Hong Kong decided to extend the incarceration of 43 out of 47 pro-democracy activists charged with threatening national security. Here is how Beijing is rolling out one of its largest political persecution campaigns in the semi-autonomous city:
1. Who are the detainees?
A total of 39 men and eight women were arrested on Sunday (Feb. 28) for "plotting subversion" by participating in an unofficial primary election held in July 2020. The primary, which aimed to unify the pro-democracy camp in order to take control of the legislative council in the general election, attracted more than 610,000 Hong Kong voters.
The current group of detainees is comprised of the candidates and organizers of the primary. They include 23 district councilors, 10 former legislative councilors, as well as students, doctors, and a retired professor. They represent the full spectrum of ideology within the pro-democracy camp, from moderate democrats to radical localists.
2. What are the charges?
The prosecutors accused the primary participants of planning to abuse the legislative councilors' power to boycott whatever fiscal plans were to be proposed by the administration. With this strategy, the pro-democracy camp is said to have hoped to force Hong Kong's chief executive to dissolve the council and resign.
However, critics have constantly challenged the legal basis for the charges, as the power of rejecting proposed budgets is a constitutional right declared in Hong Kong's Basic Law. Besides, the pro-Beijing government disqualified the frontrunners from the primary and then postponed the legislative election by one year, citing coronavirus concerns.
3. Why is judicial independence in danger?
The national security law mandates that the Hong Kong chief executive appoint the judges for national security-related cases. So Wai-tak (蘇惠德), the lead judge on the current cases, has denied bail to Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai (黎智英), who was charged with threatening national security by colluding with foreign forces.
4. What will happen next?
Due to the number of people standing trial, it took four days for all the lawyers and defendants to complete their statements and apply for bail. During the first day of the hearing on March 1, several defendants passed out in the courtroom and were hospitalized after hours of fatigue and hunger. Most defendants had no time to shower or change clothes in the time since their arrest on Feb. 28, a defense lawyer stated.
The judge finally decided to postpone the trials to May 31 after the prosecutors appealed to the court for more time to gather evidence. If the defendants plead innocent when the trials reopen, the 43 political prisoners may remain behind bars for months, if not years, before facing verdicts and possible sentences.
5. How did Beijing react?
During the National People's Congress held on Friday (March 5), Wang Chen (王晨), vice chairman of the Chinese rubber-stamp parliament, denounced the Hong Kong pro-democracy camp's attempt to win control of the city's legislature. He also announced that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is preparing to establish a "new electoral system tailored for Hong Kong."
Wang declared that the goal is to reconstruct and empower Hong Kong's current election committee, which will elect not only the region's chief executive but also numerous legislative councilors directly in the future. The committee will also nominate and screen candidates running for the legislative council.
According to sources cited by local media, the CCP plans to raise the number of members in the election committee from 1,200 to 1,500 while adding a new subgroup made up of members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as well as "patriotic leaders." It will also cancel five seats in the legislative council run by district councilors and add 25 more seats for candidates elected solely by the election committee.
