Veteran activist “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung has filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence in Hong Kong’s largest national security case.
Leung, 68, was jailed for six years and nine months last month, when 45 pro-democracy figures were sentenced for “conspiracy to commit subversion” over their roles in an unofficial primary election that aimed to help them secure a majority in the city’s Legislative Council (LegCo).
Leung Kwok-hung protests outside China Liaison Office in Sai Ying Pun after Tiananmen vigil. Photo: Joshua Kwan/United Social Press.
A panel of three designated national security judges this May ruled that the former lawmakers and activists had planned to leverage legislative powers to indiscriminately veto bills, ultimately forcing the chief executive’s resignation and a government shutdown.
Of the 47 charged in the subversion case, 16 pleaded not guilty and sat through a 118-day trial, with 14 found guilty – Leung among them.
Court documents showed that Leung was challenging his conviction and sentence, local media reported on Monday.
6 years, 9 months
During sentencing last month, the judges ruled that the activist and ex-lawmaker’s 24 prior convictions, some of which involved unauthorised assemblies, meant they “were [not] in a position to describe [Leung] as having a positive good character.”
Leung’s sentence was one of the longest handed out. Ex-legal scholar Benny Tai was given 10 years – the longest national security sentence meted out to date – and the shortest sentences were four years and two months.
Before he was placed in custody in February 2021 and later jailed over his participation in the primaries, Leung served as a lawmaker for 13 years.
As the founder and chairperson of the pro-democracy League of Social Democrats (LSD), Leung was at the forefront of calls for labour rights until his disqualification from LegCo in 2017, after authorities declared he had improperly taken an oath of loyalty.
Leung wrote in his mitigation letter posted on the LSD’s social media pages this August: “Along the way for nearly 50 years, black hair has turned into white. Long hair has turned into short. A free man has become remanded. I still act with this faith in mind. Whether I am an ordinary citizen or a Legislative Councillor, I have always done my part to fight for democracy and social justice.”
Last week, ex-lawmaker Raymond Chan and ex-district councillors Tat Cheng and Kalvin Ho lodged appeals against their sentences and convictions, while radio host Tam Tak-chi, who pleaded guilty to the charge, sought an appeal against his sentence.
Activists Owen Chow, Gordon Ng and Michael Pang; former lawmakers Helena Wong and Lam Cheuk-ting; former union leader Winnie Yu; journalist-turned-activist Gwyneth Ho; and ex-district councillor Clarisse Yeung have filed appeals. They all pleaded not guilty.
