Political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong this week (6 May - 10 May)

Trial of Jimmy Lai

The long-anticipated trial of Jimmy Lai opened on Monday 18 December 2023. Jimmy Lai is a British citizen who founded the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, the largest pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. Next Digital is the parent company of Apple Daily.

Mr Lai faces three charges under Hong Kong’s Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL) which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison, and one charge for “conspiracy to publish seditious publications” under the colonial-era sedition law. A long-time critic of the Chinese Communist Party, Mr Lai is one of the most high-profile pro-democracy activists who has been arrested under the NSL. 

Royston Chow Tat-kuen, Chan Tsz-Wah testify in the trial of Jimmy Lai

Former Next Digital executive Royston Chow Tat-kuen began his testimony against Jimmy Lai this week. Mr Chow was arrested alongside Mr Lai in June 2021 for allegedly conspiring to collude with foreign forces, but was granted immunity in February 2022 for agreeing to testify against Mr Lai in his national security trial and in a separate case for alleged fraud.

During his testimony, Mr Chow confirmed that he helped to manage Mr Lai’s personal bank accounts. Mr Chow shared that Mr Lai transferred one of his companies to Chan Tsz-wah, who engaged in international lobbying activities during the 2019 pro-democracy protests, “as a reward for his service”. Mr Chow said, “Mark Simon (Jimmy Lai’s personal aide) came to my office and explained that Chan Tsz-wah helped Mr Lai with some matters, therefore Mr Lai gave him the company as a reward for his service. I didn’t ask any further than that.”

Mr Chow explained that Mr Lai supported Andy Li’s global advertising campaign, including for an advertisement portraying the situation in Hong Kong in the Taiwan Apple Daily. Mr Chow also mentioned the ‘One Hongkonger One Letter’ initiative, which involved sending paper letters with the Apple Daily logo to the US, designed to increase the number of US subscriptions to Apple Daily. Mr Chow said, “If you send one letter each to Trump, that would create a big noise and attract a lot of attention, thereby hoping more people will subscribe to Apple Daily.” The court also inquired about a message from Mr Lai to Mr Chow that included a link to a crowdfunding website, ‘US Supporting Apple Daily’.

Along with the testimony of Royston Chow, Chan Tsz-wah completed his 13-day testimony against Jimmy Lai. Mr Chan is a paralegal who pleaded guilty with Andy Li for allegedly conspiring with Jimmy Lai regarding plans to leave Hong Kong, to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong, and to form a government-in-exile. Mr Chan is a former member of the civil society organisation ‘Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong’ (SWHK), and is currently remanded in custody.

The allegedly criminal activities of Mr Lai, including publishing advertisements in newspapers, engaging in international lobbying activities, and peacefully exercising human rights and fundamental freedoms, are permissible under international law, including within the scope of Hong Kong’s international legal obligations.

Other Developments

Development 1: Verdict in the trial of the 47 democrats expected at the end of May

The verdict in the trial of the 47 democrats is expected to be handed down at the end of this month. The verdict will be delivered more than three years after the 47 democrats were brought to court for alleged conspiracy to commit subversion for their participation in “unofficial” primary elections in July 2020. 

The 118-day trial of the 47 democrats began on 6 February 2023, and ended on 4 December 2023. The trial concerns 47 of 55 individuals who were arrested in January 2021 for participating in the “unofficial” primaries. The defendants were accused of conspiring to veto government bills and “cripple government operations by leveraging legislative powers”. The majority of defendants have been in detention for 2 years, as only 13 have been granted bail. 31 of the defendants pleaded guilty. 

This is the largest and one of the most significant national security trials since the NSL was passed. The outcome of this case will set a precedent for cases involving legislators, activists, trade unionists and journalists who face charges for simply doing their jobs and partaking in activities that are in line with their internationally-guaranteed rights and freedoms.

Development 2: Hong Kong court bans pro-democracy anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’

A Hong Kong appeals court approved the Hong Kong government’s application to ban the pro-democracy anthem ‘Glory to Hong Kong’, overturning a lower court ruling in July 2023 that rejected the government’s bid due to free speech concerns. 

Three Court of Appeal judges ruled that the government’s injunction was “necessary” to remove “problematic videos” from online platforms. This follows numerous incidents at international sporting events in which ‘Glory to Hong Kong’, popularised during the 2019 protests, has been mixed up with the People’s Republic of China’s anthem ‘March of the Volunteers’. 

The injunction prohibits anyone from “[b]roadcasting, performing, printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, disseminating, displaying or reproducing in any way” the song and its lyrics “with the intent of…inciting others to commit secession,” “with a seditious intention,” or “in such a way…as to be likely to be mistaken as the national anthem” of Hong Kong, “suggest that the [Hong Kong Special Administrative Region] is an independent state… with intent to insult the national anthem.” The injunction applies to “any internet-based platform or medium” and their global operations.

When the Hong Kong government first bid to ban ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ last year, Hong Kong Watch led more than 24 civil society organisations in writing a joint letter to Daniel Ek, CEO of Spotify, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple Inc, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc and Google LLC, Linda Yaccarino, CEO of Twitter Inc, and Mark Zuckerburg, CEO and Chairperson of Meta Platforms Inc., urging them to oppose the injunction that bans intermediaries from broadcasting or distributing online, including on YouTube, the 2019 protest song. 

In October 2023, 69-year-old Hong Kong busker Li Jiexin was jailed for 30 days for performing ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ in public, accused of engaging in alleged soft resistance against the Hong Kong authorities. Mr Li was released after providing a HK$2,000 (US$255) cash bail.

Given the extraterritorial clause and global jurisdiction set out in both the NSL and the recently passed Safeguarding National Security Bill, known as ‘Article 23 legislation’, the ban of ‘Glory to Hong Kong’ could set a dangerous precedent for censorship in Hong Kong, which increasingly mirrors Mainland China. Hong Kong Watch remains gravely concerned about the implications of this injunction, and urges technology firms and internet service providers such as Google and Apple to honour the freedom of expression in their operations worldwide.

香港政治犯審訊每週簡報（2024年5月6日至10日）

黎智英案

黎智英的《國家安全法》案件經數度延期後，終於在2023年12月18日開審。黎智英是英國公民，創辦了香港最大型民主派報紙《蘋果日報》，《蘋果》現已停運。壹傳媒是《蘋果日報》的母公司。

黎被控「串謀勾結外國勢力」等三項《國安法》控罪，最高可判處終身監禁，另被控一項殖民時代煽動法下的「串謀發布煽動刊物」罪。他長期批評中國共產黨，是因《國安法》被捕而備受關注的社運人士之一。

時任壹傳媒營運總裁周達權出庭作供

律師助理陳梓華完成13日作供後，第六名控方證人、時任壹傳媒營運總裁周達權開始出庭指證黎智英。

周確認有份處理黎智英的私人銀行戶口。他憶述黎的助手Mark Simon曾在2019年9月向他表示會把一間離岸公司戶口股權全部轉讓予陳梓華，並解釋指因陳幫黎做事，故「黎生就將呢間公司轉咗俾佢作為酬勞，咁我就冇再問落去喇」。

周解釋黎墊支李宇軒全球登報廣告費事宜，包括向台灣《蘋果日報》登報。他又談到黎有關「一人一信行動」的指示，稱如果「一人一信」寄給特朗普，聲音會很大，亦會有很多關注，從而希望增加訂閱《蘋果》的人數。控方亦問到黎向周傳送名為「US Supporting Apple Daily」的眾籌網站連結。

其他事件

事件1：47人案將於5月30日裁決 預計需時兩天

事件2：香港上訴庭批《願榮光歸香港》禁制令