Biweekly political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong (25 November - 6 December)
Development 1: Trial of British citizen Jimmy Lai continues
On 20 November 2024, the trial of British citizen Jimmy Lai resumed.
On 5 December, Mr Lai testified that he was “too optimistic” about the Hong Kong people’s willingness to resist a Beijing-drafted national security law before it was imposed by the People’s Republic of China in June 2020. He said it was “wishful thinking” on his part to believe that the law would not be implemented as scheduled on 30 June 2020, and that it would be “impossible” for Hong Kongers to “stop fighting.”
Mr Lai added that Hong Kong “is beyond redemption” and that “it is useless to fight” after the Hong Kong National Security Law came into effect in 2020. He also denied that he instructed staff of his now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper to urge the West to impose sanctions on Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai is a British citizen who founded Apple Daily, the largest pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. Mr Lai was also an influential pro-democracy organiser during the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement in 2019. Mr Lai faces three charges under the Hong Kong National Security Law which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison, and one charge for “conspiracy to publish seditious publications” under the colonial-era sedition law. Mr Lai’s trial was initially expected to be 80 days long, but has lasted for over 100 days already.
Development 2: Ma Chun-man barred from early release
Ma Chun-man, the first Hong Kong prisoner made ineligible for early release after the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance (SNSO) was enacted in March, has lost his legal challenge against the new SNSO rule which increases the threshold to apply for early release.
Mr Ma was sentenced to five years in jail on appeal for chanting slogans and making speeches that called for Hong Kong’s independence between August and November 2020. Due to his good behaviour, he was set to be released on March 25 of this year. However, due to the SNSO being passed on 19 March 2024, which does not allow for early release for good behaviour, Mr Ma will serve all five years behind bars.
Although Mr Ma filed a judicial review of his case, it was refused by High Court Judge Alex Lee today. The judgment made reference to a decision by the corrections chief which stated that Mr Ma had taken part in psychological counselling and religious activities during detention, but that there was insufficient information to show that he had “fully rehabilitated, de-radicalised, demonstrated any genuine remorse or renounced his secessionist and radical ideology.”
The SNSO has been applied retroactively and is already having an impact on political prisoners in Hong Kong, in addition to being used to put more political figures behind bars.
Development 3: Sentencing of Hong Kong 47 challenged
Following the sentencing of 45 of the Hong Kong 47, in which fourteen pro-democracy legislators and aspiring legislators were found guilty of alleged subversion under the Hong Kong National Security Law for peacefully organising and participating in “unofficial” primary elections for the Hong Kong Legislative Council in July 2020, three more defendants have appealed their convictions and sentences.
This includes Gordon Ng, a political novice and an Australian national, who received one of the longest prison sentences of seven years and three months; Lam Cheuk-ting, a former legislator and a member of the Democratic Party, who was sentenced to six years and nine months in jail; and Michael Pang, a young entrepreneur and activist, who received six years and six months imprisonment.
Five other democrats lodged bids to appeal against their convictions and sentences already. This includes activist Owen Chow, former lawmaker Helena Wong, ex-district councillor Clarisse Yeung, former union leader Winnie Yu and journalist-turned-activist Gwyneth Ho.
The Department of Justice confirmed that it had received applications for a leave to appeal from Mr Chow, Ms Wong, Ms Yeung and Ms Yu. They have not yet scheduled these appeal hearings.