Hong Kong 47: 4 more democrats jailed in landmark national security case seek appeals

Hong Kong Free Press

A high-profile Hong Kong democrat who was jailed for four years and five months after pleaded guilty in Hong Kong’s largest national security case has sought to appeal for a shorter sentence. Three others convicted of conspiring to commit subversion are also seeking to overturn their convictions.

Raymond Chan, Tat Cheng, Kalvin Ho, and Tam Tak-chi. Photos: Kyle Lam/HKFP and Etan Liam, via Flickr.

Tam Tak-chi, better known as “Fast Beat,” has launched a bid to challenge his sentence of four years and five months, making him the first of the 31 pro-democracy figures who pleaded guilty to the national security trial to seek an appeal.

Separately, former chair of People Power and Hong Kong’s first openly gay lawmaker Raymond Chan, ex-Civic Party district councillor Tat Cheng, and vice-chair of the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood (ADPL) Kalvin Ho are seeking to challenge their convictions and sentences.

They were among 45 democrats jailed over their participation in a primary election that was deemed a subversion plot by the High Court.

The appeal bids reported on Friday add to those already filed by eight others in the case, and came two days after the Department of Justice said it had no plans to seek longer jail terms for the 45 pro-democracy figures sentenced last month.

In early 2021, the 45 democrats were charged, along with two acquitted in May, with taking part in a conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law, over their involvement in a primary election in July 2020 that aimed to help the pan-democrats seize a majority in the Legislative Council.

Tsang Kin-shing, aka “the Bull,” lines up outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on November 19, 2024, ahead of the sentencing hearing for 45 pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong’s largest national security case to date. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

The court ruled that the democrats, had they won a majority, intended to abuse their powers to indiscriminately veto the government budget and force the chief executive to resign. This would have plunged the city into a “constitutional crisis,” they ruled.

12 appeal bids

Chan, 52, was jailed for six years and six months. He was given a six-month discount for his ignorance of the law and his past public service as a lawmaker from 2012 until his resignation in September 2020, after the government postponed the 2020 legislative election, citing Covid-19 concerns.

Cheng, 36, was a district councillor with the now-disbanded Civic Party. He won the unofficial primary in the Hong Kong Island constituency but was disqualified from standing in the Legislative Council election. He was sentenced to six years and six months in jail.

Ho, 36, was a district councillor and vice-chair of the ADPL. He was sentenced to six years and seven months. The judges presiding over the national security case dismissed his defence that he took part in the primary because he believed vetoing the budget was a right guaranteed by Hong Kong’s constitution, the Basic Law.

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.

Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.