Political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong last two weeks (4-8 and 11-15 September)

Trial of the 47 democrats

Weeks 31 and 32: (4-8 and 11-15 September)

The long-anticipated trial of the 47 democrats opened on Monday 6 February 2023. The trial concerns the 47 democrats who organised or participated in “unofficial” primaries in July 2020. As a result of these primaries, 55 people were arrested in January 2021, in the largest crackdown since the National Security Law was passed. 

Of these, 47 have been accused of “conspiracy to commit subversion” and are now facing trial. The majority of defendants have been in detention for 2 years, as only 13 have been granted bail. 31 of the defendants have pleaded guilty. This is one of the most significant trials since the National Security Law (NSL) was passed.

Here are the updates on the twenty-eighth week of the trial of the 47 democrats:

Trial Adjourned 

Now that all the defendants have testified, the trial has been adjourned to November for the prosecution and defense to prepare closing arguments. 

This includes the prosecutors and legal representatives of 16 former lawmakers, ex-district councilors and activists for around four months to prepare closing submissions. 

The trial will resume on 27 November 2023. 

Other Developments:

Development 1: Ted Hui’s in-laws questioned by national security police

This week, Ted Hui’s father-in-law, mother-in-law, and brother-in-law were taken away from their apartment to police stations for questioning. 

Hui is a former lawmaker and one of the eight activists against whom the Hong Kong national security police issued arrest warrants and bounties of HKD 1 million for information that can lead to arrest.

This is the latest escalation in the application of the Hong Kong National Security Law against opposition figures, in particular since the announcement of arrest warrants and bounties against the eight activists in exile. 

On 11 July, the family members of ex-lawmaker Nathan Law were also taken away and questioned. On 20 July, in a similar move, police took away questioned family members of trade unionist Christopher Mung Siu-tat and ex-lawmaker Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, and searched their homes. Then on 24 July, police detained the son and daughter of Elmer Yuen, and on 8 August the family members of Anna Kwok. 

Hong Kong Watch condemned this and also published a joint statement from over 50 Hong Kong civil society organisations urging government action following the Hong Kong National Security arrest warrants and bounties. 

Development 2: Student jailed for 6 months for plan to display Tiananmen monument banner

Zeng Yuxuan, a 23-year old law student from Mainland China, has been sentenced to six months in prison in Hong Kong. 

She pleaded guilty to attempting to do an act with a seditious intention by planning to display a large banner relating to a 1989 Tiananmen monument on the anniversary of the crackdown.

Her plan was to display a nine-metre long vertical banner of the Pillar of Shame in the Causeway Bay of Hong Kong on June 4 2023, which was the 34th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre. She obtained the banner from Zhou Fengsuo, the exiled Chinese human rights activist based in the US. The banner was part of a global campaign led by Danish artist Jens Galschiøt, who created the Pillar of Shame. 

Development 3: PayPal donations to Hong Kong Free Press frozen 

Hong Kong Free Press, the English-language independent newspaper in Hong Kong, has urged its donors to check their PayPal account details or switch to other payment methods. 

They found that 200 of the 306 PayPal donations have been frozen, due to the recent PayPal policy change requiring customers to upload identification documents to avoid account suspensions. This is to comply with new regulations to combat fraud and unauthorised financial activities in Hong Kong, but has also resulted in many users’ accounts being suspended.