Latest news with #47democrats
CNA
18-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Hong Kong activists' appeal ends, judgment due in nine months
HONG KONG: A hearing for 12 pro-democracy activists appealing their conviction and sentencing for subversion in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong ended on Thursday (Jul 17) with a judgment due within nine months. The case stems from the "47 democrats", dubbed by Hong Kong media for the number of activists arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021. Forty-five of the defendants were jailed last year for holding an unofficial primary election in 2020, soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to pro-democracy protests. Eleven are appealing their conviction and sentences, while one who pleaded guilty is challenging her sentence. Government prosecutor Andy Lo told the hearing on Thursday that the case involved "an unprecedented conspiracy", while defence lawyers said on Wednesday their clients had been denied a fair trial. Judge Jeremy Poon said a decision would be made within nine months. After that, it would still be possible to seek an appeal to Hong Kong's highest court. The 45 received prison terms of between four and 10 years after prosecutors said they sought to paralyse government and force the city's leader to resign by securing a legislative majority to indiscriminately veto budget proposals. "INTERVENTIONIST" TRIAL During this week's appeal hearing, defence lawyers argued on Wednesday that the three judges who presided over the original trial had frequently interrupted defendants during cross-examination. "The trial court was interventionist from very early on," said Robert Pang, a lawyer for unionist Winnie Yu. He said the court repeatedly disallowed questions on grounds of irrelevance. Lawyer Steven Kwan said his client, activist Owen Chow, did not receive a fair trial as "his evidence was disbelieved very early on" and judges posed 45 per cent of all the questions to him. But prosecutor Derek Lau said judges had that right, noting it was not a jury trial. "There is no unfairness that can be observed that is to the prejudice of the defender in these questions," he said. Lawyer Trevor Beel, representing activist Gwyneth Ho, said on Wednesday that legislators had a duty to use whatever legitimate means to negotiate with the government and that Hong Kong's mini-constitution or Basic Law allows for a budget not to be passed. Under Article 52 of the Basic Law, the chief executive must step down if the legislature twice rejects the government's budget. Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 with a promise of freedom and autonomy under the "one country, two systems" framework and an eventual democratic vote for the chief executive and the legislature. If Ho wanted to achieve dual universal suffrage and an effective legislature, then it "was not radical, and this is not against the principle of one country, two systems," Beel said.
CNA
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Hong Kong activists' appeal ends, judgement due in nine months
HONG KONG: A hearing for 12 pro-democracy activists appealing their conviction and sentencing for subversion in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong ended on Thursday (Jul 17) with a judgement due within nine months. The case stems from the "47 democrats", dubbed by Hong Kong media for the number of activists arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021. Forty-five of the defendants were jailed last year for holding an unofficial primary election in 2020, soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to pro-democracy protests. Eleven are appealing their conviction and sentences, while one who pleaded guilty is challenging her sentence. Government prosecutor Andy Lo told the hearing on Thursday that the case involved "an unprecedented conspiracy", while defence lawyers said on Wednesday their clients had been denied a fair trial. Judge Jeremy Poon said a decision would be made within nine months. After that, it would still be possible to seek an appeal to Hong Kong's highest court. The 45 received prison terms of between four and 10 years after prosecutors said they sought to paralyse government and force the city's leader to resign by securing a legislative majority to indiscriminately veto budget proposals. "INTERVENTIONIST" TRIAL During this week's appeal hearing, defence lawyers argued on Wednesday that the three judges who presided over the original trial had frequently interrupted defendants during cross-examination. "The trial court was interventionist from very early on," said Robert Pang, a lawyer for unionist Winnie Yu. He said the court repeatedly disallowed questions on grounds of irrelevance. Lawyer Steven Kwan said his client, activist Owen Chow, did not receive a fair trial as "his evidence was disbelieved very early on" and judges posed 45 per cent of all the questions to him. But prosecutor Derek Lau said judges had that right, noting it was not a jury trial. "There is no unfairness that can be observed that is to the prejudice of the defender in these questions," he said. Lawyer Trevor Beel, representing activist Gwyneth Ho, said on Wednesday that legislators had a duty to use whatever legitimate means to negotiate with the government and that Hong Kong's mini-constitution or Basic Law allows for a budget not to be passed. Under Article 52 of the Basic Law, the chief executive must step down if the legislature twice rejects the government's budget. Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 with a promise of freedom and autonomy under the "one country, two systems" framework and an eventual democratic vote for the chief executive and the legislature. If Ho wanted to achieve dual universal suffrage and an effective legislature, then it "was not radical, and this is not against the principle of one country, two systems," Beel said.
Reuters
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Hong Kong activists' appeal ends, judgement due in nine months
HONG KONG, July 17 (Reuters) - A hearing for 12 pro-democracy activists appealing their conviction and sentencing for subversion in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong ended on Thursday with a judgement due within nine months. The case stems from the "47 democrats", dubbed by Hong Kong media for the number of activists arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021. Forty-five of the defendants were jailed last year for holding an unofficial primary election in 2020, soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to pro-democracy protests. Eleven are appealing their conviction and sentences, while one who pleaded guilty is challenging her sentence. Government prosecutor Andy Lo told the hearing on Thursday that the case involved "an unprecedented conspiracy", while defence lawyers said on Wednesday their clients had been denied a fair trial. Judge Jeremy Poon said a decision would be made within nine months. After that, it would still be possible to seek an appeal to Hong Kong's highest court. The 45 received prison terms of between four and 10 years after prosecutors said they sought to paralyse government and force the city's leader to resign by securing a legislative majority to indiscriminately veto budget proposals. During this week's appeal hearing, defence lawyers argued on Wednesday that the three judges who presided over the original trial had frequently interrupted defendants during cross-examination. "The trial court was interventionist from very early on," said Robert Pang, a lawyer for unionist Winnie Yu. He said the court repeatedly disallowed questions on grounds of irrelevance. Lawyer Steven Kwan said his client, activist Owen Chow, did not receive a fair trial as "his evidence was disbelieved very early on" and judges posed 45% of all the questions to him. But prosecutor Derek Lau said judges had that right, noting it was not a jury trial. "There is no unfairness that can be observed that is to the prejudice of the defender in these questions," he said. Lawyer Trevor Beel, representing activist Gwyneth Ho, said on Wednesday that legislators had a duty to use whatever legitimate means to negotiate with the government and that Hong Kong's mini-constitution or Basic Law allows for a budget not to be passed. Under Article 52 of the Basic Law, the chief executive must step down if the legislature twice rejects the government's budget. Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 with a promise of freedom and autonomy under the "one country, two systems" framework and an eventual democratic vote for the chief executive and the legislature. If Ho wanted to achieve dual universal suffrage and an effective legislature, then it "was not radical, and this is not against the principle of one country, two systems," Beel said.
CNA
17-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
Appeal for 12 Hong Kong activists concludes amid unfair trial claims
HONG KONG: An appeal hearing for 12 activists convicted of subversion under Hong Kong's national security law ended earlier than expected on Thursday (Jul 17), with two defence lawyers arguing that their clients had not received a fair trial. The appeal stems from the "47 democrats" case, named for the number of activists who were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021. 45 of the defendants were jailed last year for holding an unofficial primary election in July 2020, soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to protests the year before. Their sentences ranged between four to 10 years. Two were acquitted, while 12 appealed the conviction on July 14. Judge Jeremy Poon said on Thursday that the judgment would be made within nine months given the case's complexity. After that, it would still be possible to seek an appeal to Hong Kong's highest court. Government prosecutor Andy Lo said on Thursday that the case involved "an unprecedented conspiracy". Erik Shum, representing former lawmakers Helena Wong and Lam Cheuk-ting, said "the court sentencing process was wrong in principle, and hence the ultimate sentence was incorrect and it should be toned down". Wong was sentenced to 6 years and 6 months while Lam was sentenced to 6 years and nine months. During the four-day hearing, two defence lawyers argued on Wednesday that the three judges who presided over the earlier trial had frequently interrupted some defendants during cross-examination. "The trial court was interventionist from very early on," said Robert Pang, a lawyer for unionist Winnie Yu. He said that the court repeatedly disallowed questions on grounds of irrelevance. Lawyer Steven Kwan said his client, activist Owen Chow did not receive a fair trial as "his evidence was disbelieved very early on". He also said the judges posed 45 per cent of all the questions put to Chow, who was later sentenced to 7 years and 9 months. Prosecutor Derek Lau said judges had the right to ask questions, noting it was not a jury trial. "There is no unfairness that can be observed, that is to the prejudice of the defender in these questions," Lau said. Prosecutors had said the defendants sought to paralyse the government and force the city's leader to resign by securing a legislative majority to indiscriminately veto budget proposals. Under Article 52 of Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, the chief executive must step down if the legislature twice rejects the government's budget. Lawyer Trevor Beel, representing activist Gwyneth Ho, said on Wednesday that legislators had a duty to use whatever legitimate means to negotiate with the government and that the Basic Law allows for a budget not to be passed. Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 with a promise of freedom and autonomy under the "one country, two systems" framework, and eventual universal suffrage under the Basic Law. If Ho wanted to achieve dual universal suffrage and an effective legislature, then it "was not radical, and this is not against the principle of one country, two systems," Beel said.
Free Malaysia Today
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
12 HK activists appeal convictions in landmark '47 democrats' case
A crackdown on dissent under a national security law has resulted in scores of arrests in Hong Kong. (AP pic) HONG KONG : Twelve Hong Kong pro-democracy activists appealed their subversion convictions and jail terms today in a national security case that has spotlighted Beijing's ongoing crackdown on dissent and drawn international criticism. The appeal stems from the '47 democrats' case, named for the number of activists who were arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021. The court eventually found 45 of the defendants guilty of organising and holding an unofficial primary election in July 2020 soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to pro-democracy protests the year before. Two defendants were acquitted. Prosecutors considered the action to be a plot to undermine the Hong Kong government. Security was tight around the West Kowloon law courts as scores of police officers, some with police dogs, patrolled the area and occasionally searched passers-by. 'They're not criminals,' said an elderly man surnamed Wong who was among around 100 people queuing to get a public ticket for the hearing. Foreign diplomats from over half a dozen countries were in attendance for this latest stage of the legal saga that began with dawn police raids on the homes of high-profile democrats in early 2021. Some rights groups and countries have condemned the case as politically motivated and called for the release of the democrats who were sentenced last November to prison terms of between four and 10 years. 'This appeal hearing is a chance for the courts to start righting the wrongs of this unprecedented mass prosecution,' said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International's China director. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have defended the independence of the judiciary, saying no one is above the law and the defendants have received a fair trial. The defendants were accused of attempting to establish unified pro-democracy candidates through the unofficial primary election to boost their chances of securing an unprecedented parliamentary majority. Prosecutors have said they intended to disrupt the government and even force Hong Kong's leader to resign by 'indiscriminately vetoing' budget proposals. Of the 16 democrats who pleaded not guilty during the trial, 11 have appealed their convictions, including Gordon Ng, Gwyneth Ho and Owen Chow, who were all jailed for over seven years. Prince Wong, who pleaded guilty, is appealing her sentence. The appeals are expected to take around 10 days, and also include a government request to overturn the acquittal of barrister Lawrence Lau. Erik Shum, a lawyer for two of the defendants, argued the democrats' actions were legal as lawmakers were free to vote against any bills and such votes 'could not possibly be an abuse of power'. A years-long crackdown under a China-imposed national security law has resulted in scores of arrests and the closures of liberal media outlets and civil society groups.
