Who are the 16 Hong Kong democrats awaiting verdict in the city’s largest national security trial?
Hong Kong Free Press
Sixteen Hong Kong democrats who pleaded not guilty to taking part in a conspiracy to commit subversion await their fate, as a panel of three judges prepare to hand down their verdict in the city’s largest – and to date, longest lasting – national security trial.
Two days have been set aside for the verdict hearing, which comes almost three and a half years after they were among 47 arrested under the Beijing-imposed security law in January 2021 over their roles in unofficial primaries held in July 2020 in an attempt to gain a controlling majority in the upcoming Legislative Council (LegCo) election.
They stand accused of planning to use legislative powers to indiscriminately veto bills, ultimately forcing the chief executive’s resignation and a government shutdown. Most have been detained since being taken into police custody on February 28, 2021, ahead of a marathon bail hearing. If found guilty, they face up to life in prison.
Throughout the trial, the prosecution built its case around several key documents – including an online declaration known as “Resolute Resistance, Inked Without Regret,” a primary election nomination form, and an agreement signed by candidates in the Kowloon East geographical constituency – which they said proved the defendants’ involvement in the alleged conspiracy.
Tat Cheng
Tat Cheng, 35, was a member of the Eastern District Council when he was arrested in connection with the primary election case in January 2021. During the lengthy trial, prosecutors alleged that Tat – who was a member of the Civic Party at the time of the primaries – had demonstrated “persistent commitment” to the alleged conspiracy by pledging to indiscriminately exercise the power to veto the budget.
Cheng testified in his defence last June, telling the court that the Civic Party had no unified stance on using the veto against all government bills. He said he had raised concerns that vetoing the budget would affect plans to construct a public hospital on Lantau Island and the expansion of the Eastern Hospital.
“Our supporters were rational, middle class people. Why would we come out and try to get a slice of the pie from the localists?” Cheng said during his testimony.
Clarisse Yeung
Clarrise Yeung, 37, was elected as a member of the Wan Chai District Council in 2015. She was the council’s chairwoman from 2020 until her disqualification over an “invalid” pledge of allegiance in September 2021.
Yeung did not take the witness stand during the trial. According to the prosecution, she signed an online declaration form and lobbied to “fight against the regime” in an event held ahead of the primary elections.
Although she lost in the primaries, Yeung stepped in to run in the Hong Kong Island constituency after three pro-democracy candidates were barred from running in the LegCo election. This helped the democrats develop the scheme to abuse their powers as lawmakers, if elected, the prosecution said.
Michael Pang
Former Southern district councillor Michael Pang, 29, was said to have labelled the Chinese Communist Party as an “enemy” in a speech made during a forum ahead of the primary election. Prosecutors alleged he had also vowed to use physical force as a means of “resistance” if he were elected to the legislature. He had also pledged to indiscriminately veto the budget, the prosecution alleged.
During the trial, Pang said he would have considered the content of the budget rather than casting a vote against it indiscriminately. He also described the pledges he made at the election forum as “election language,” saying he had “pretended to be yellow” – the colour associated wit Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests – in a bid to win the support of pro-democracy voters. He lost in the primaries.
Kalvin Ho
Kalvin Ho, 35, was the vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People’s Livelihood (ADPL). Prosecutors alleged that the then-Sham Shui Po district councillor had pledged to stage resistance in the legislature after winning the primary election. He also vowed to bar the police force, which he described as a “criminal gang,” from receiving any public funding.
In his defence, Ho said he believed signatories of the online declaration cited by the prosecution as proof of the conspiracy had the right to decide how to exercise the veto power handed to a lawmaker. ADPL supporters would not support an indiscriminate veto of the budget, he said, adding that he would review the budget before deciding how to vote.
Lawrence Lau
Barrister Lawrence Lau, 56, represented himself in the trial. During his two-day testimony, he told the court he did not agree with the five demands, and in particular had reservations about granting amnesty to all protesters arrested during the 2019 unrest.
According to the prosecution, Lau had signed the online declaration and therefore promised to abide by its contents. But Lau said in his testimony that he had not signed it and was unsure why his name was on it. When asked by judge Andrew Chan why he did not call for his name to be removed, Lau said doing so would have been “election campaign suicide.”
Helena Wong
Helena Wong, 65, a member of the Democratic Party, was a lawmaker from 2012 to 2020. The prosecution said Wong was aware of the objectives of the alleged conspiracy as she had signed a nomination form and her representative had attended a coordination meeting on her behalf. The prosecution also cited Wong saying during an election forum that “we will use all the powers and methods under the constitution to fight for the five demands.”
The defence argued that Wong, like the rest of the Democratic Party, did not sign the “Resolute Resistance, Inked Without Regret” online declaration. Her barrister also said that the statement made during the election forum was allowed by the Basic Law, and not what the prosecution called an abuse of power. Wong did not testify.
Sze Tak-loy
Former ADPL chairperson Sze Tak-loy, 41, testified for five days during the trial. He told the court that participating in the primary poll was a way to improve the image of the ADPL, a traditional pro-democracy party that he said some saw as “weak.”
According to the prosecution, Sze attended a coordination meeting and signed the Inked Without Regret document. The prosecution also cited Sze saying: “If ADPL members] make it into the Legislative Council, in this day and age, we must fight. Anybody who doesn’t fight, please get out of the way.”
The defence argued that Sze’s statements were political language. The defence also said Sze had read the national security law and consulted ADPL’s district councillors and lawyers, and believed it was not against the law to veto the budget.
Gwyneth Ho
Journalist-turned activist Gwyneth Ho, 33, took the stand for 10 days. During her testimony, the former Stand News reporter said she would “absolutely” veto the budget if she had become a lawmaker. She also told the court that she believed most Hongkongers knew “fighting for democracy under the Chinese Communist regime” was a fantasy, prompting judge Alex Lee to say the hearing was not an occasion for making political statements.
The prosecution alleged that Ho attended a press conference for “resistance camp” candidates, during which they “reiterate[d] their views to maintain their unwavering insurgence against the government.” The prosecution also quoted Ho saying in an election forum that more resistance camp members needed to be elected to the legislature in order to “break the impasse that the Chinese Communist Party set for Hong Kong.”
Raymond Chan
Former lawmaker Raymond Chan, despite having participated in the primary elections, told the court that he did not consider himself part of the “resistance camp” when he testified last August. Chan also said that he “certainly had no intention” of indiscriminately vetoing the budget, nor of asking others to do so. He told the court that his signing of the Inked without Regret declaration did not mean he shared all of the other signatories’ views.
Chan also said that he believed the likelihood of achieving a pan-democratic majority in the legislature was low, and that focusing too much on that hypothetical would in turn give voters an “empty promise” of “a vision that can’t be realised.”
He hoped to convey to voters the message that the legislature and voting were indeed useful, and was instead focused on what would happen if the democrats failed to secure a majority in the legislature.
Owen Chow
Owen Chow, part of the self-styled resistance camp, was among those who drafted the Inked without Regret declaration on June 9, 2020. He testified in August that he had considered quitting the primary election due to national security concerns, but decided to press on because he could not “abandon the crowd.”
The activist also said he tried to tone down the language of his election campaign, changing his slogan from “Say no to colonisation, ethnic group resists against tyranny” to “Resist the tyranny, defend our dignity.”
He and his team also believed that the idea of seeing Hong Kong as an ethnic group could be “distorted” into secessionist or pro-independence statements that could breach the security legislation. But the judges said there was not much of a difference between his old and new slogan.
Lam Cheuk-ting
Lam Cheuk-ting did not take the stand during the trial. The former Democratic Party lawmaker, along with Wong, Ho and activist Gordon Ng, sought to throw out the subversion charge last June. But the panel of judges ruled that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to build a case against the 16 defendants.
The prosecution cited notes found in Lam’s home which read: “In my four years in the Legislative Council, I haven’t supported the budget.” Lam’s lawyer argued that the ex-lawmaker would not have indiscriminately vetoed the budget, citing his remarks in an election forum that he would “certainly” vote in support of the budget if the government were to hand out HK$30,000 to residents.
Shum also said that there was no way to prove that the notes were written by the ex-lawmaker.
Leung Kwok-hung
Veteran activist and former lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung did not testify. To attempt to prove his involvement in the alleged conspiracy, the prosecution cited a street rally at which Leung, along with other members of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), the party he belonged to, said he had never been absent from the resistance.
It also cited an article posted by Leung in which the LSD said it would indiscriminately veto the budget with a view to resisting the rule of the Chinese Communist Party and compelling the government to accede to the protesters’ five demands.
Leung’s lawyer argued that the LSD did not support indiscriminately voting down the budget, and was instead focused on livelihood issues.
Leung’s wife Chan Po-ying, also a member of the LSD, said that the party would support the budget if it included items such as universal retirement protection or other livelihood issues when she represented Leung at a coordination meeting, prosecution witness Au Nok-hin told the court.
Ricky Or
Ricky Or, 53, was a member of the Sai Kung District Council at the time of his arrest. He was granted bail and he chose not to testify.
Prosecutors said Or had attended the coordination meeting in the New Territories East constituency and was aware of the goal. They also said Or endorsed the Inked without Regret declaration.
Cyrus Chan, Or’s assistant and campaign manager during the primary election, testified that Or only joined the primary election to “test the water,” so that he could decide whether he had enough support to join the legislative election. Chan also said Or had never indicated he would veto the budget indiscriminately and Or had publicly disapproved of the idea of “mutual destruction.”
Chan added that Or was a “moderate democrat” and he signed the Inked without Regret because other candidates had done so.
Lee Yue-shun
Lee Yue-shun, 30, was a member of the Eastern District Council and of the Civic Party at the time of his arrest.
Prosecutors said Lee had participated in the primary election and had received coordination documents. The Civic Party had endorsed the Inked without Regret declaration and then-chair Alvin Yeung had vowed the Civic Party would veto all government bills if the five demands were not met.
Lee said the Civic Party declined to place him in the primary initially. He said he was only allowed to join after he was arrested on June 12, 2020, and gained fame and financial support. He said he did not attend any coordination meetings.
Lee also said he did not intend to veto the budget, citing a conversation he had with then-Civic Party legislator Jeremy Tam during which he proposed his platform. He said he would not follow the party to veto the budget: “I would follow my will to vote. Let’s see what consequences the party has for me.”
Winnie Yu
Winnie Yu, 37, was chairperson of the pro-democracy Hospital Authority Employee Association, which was formed during the 2019 protests.
She participated in the primary election’s health service constituency and had endorsed the Inked without Regret declaration.
Yu testified that she would have vetoed government bills “by default” if she had been elected to the legislature, adding that doing so would have forced the government to negotiate with the opposition.
She also said she had signed Inked without Regret to demonstrate that she was a member of the resistance camp.
Gordon Ng
Gordon Ng, 45, is an Australian citizen who the prosecution has named as one of the five organisers of the primary election.
Prosecutors said Ng’s voting campaign formed the “backbone” of the primaries, and that he was involved in devising the primary election plan with key organiser Benny Tai.
Ng, under the pseudonym “Lee Bak Lou”, initiated a Say No to Primary Dodgers campaign, which made online calls for people not to vote for candidates who opposed or did not take part in the primary polls, as well as those who refused to comply with the results.
Ng did not testify and instead called three witnesses, a clerk at a law firm, a solicitor, and an ex-Apple Daily reporter who had interviewed him.
He also cited prosecution witness Au Nok-hin, another of the polls organisers, who previously said he had no knowledge of Ng being one of the campaign’s organisers.
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