Connect with us

World

The 47 Pro-Democracy Figures in Hong Kong’s Largest National Security Trial (Published 2023)

Published

on

The 47 Pro-Democracy Figures in Hong Kong’s Largest National Security Trial (Published 2023)

A court in Hong Kong convicted 14 pro-democracy activists on Thursday in a landmark political trial. They and dozens of other activists who had previously pleaded guilty now face potential prison time, highlighting the sweeping power of a national security law Beijing imposed to tighten its grip on the Chinese territory.

The trial centered on 47 opposition figures — politicians, academics and activists — whom the authorities accused of conspiracy to commit subversion. Here’s a look at who they are.

Joshua Wong, 27, became a prominent activist at age 14.

Advertisement

Benny Tai, 59, was a professor of law at the University of Hong Kong.

Twelve were elected lawmakers, who had often used their presence in the legislature to protest China’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s autonomy.

Advertisement

Mo had served as a lawmaker for eight years and is known as “Auntie Mo.”

Better known as “Long Hair,” Leung had been a mainstay of the opposition for nearly two decades.

Chan was Hong Kong’s first openly gay lawmaker.

Twenty-one had been elected district officials, including younger activists who were voted in after months of antigovernment protests in 2019.

Advertisement

Sham was a leader of an activist group that organized huge pro-democracy rallies throughout 2019.

Others were prominent activists who had worked on various social causes.

Advertisement

Ng was a former flight attendant who became a union leader.

Ho was a journalist who rose to fame in 2019 when, during her livestream of a mob attack on protesters, she herself was beaten by thugs.

Wong was a student leader who began her activism when she was in high school.

Advertisement

Lengthy Detentions Without Trial

The 47 defendants were charged in February 2021 with subversion for holding or taking part in an unofficial primary vote to select opposition candidates to run in elections.

Unlike other types of offenses, national security cases impose a high threshold for bail, which, in effect, lets the authorities hold defendants for months or even years before trial. Critics say that amounts to a presumption that defendants are guilty.

In hearings before the trial, 16 contested the charges and 31 pleaded guilty, including Benny Tai and Joshua Wong. On Thursday, the court in Hong Kong acquitted two of the defendants, Lawrence Lau, a barrister, and Lee Yue-shun, a social worker.

Advertisement

The charges carry prison sentences that range from less than three years to life.

The defendants and their lawyers are barred from commenting on the case. But legal experts say the democracy proponents are probably under enormous pressure to plead guilty because of the lengthy detentions, dwindling financial resources and the long odds of winning in a court modeled after China’s authoritarian system.

“The process is designed to be as painful as possible,” said Samuel Bickett, a lawyer and activist based in Washington, D.C., who was jailed in Hong Kong after scuffling with a plainclothes police officer in 2019.

The Transformation of Hong Kong’s Political Landscape

Starting in June 2019, Hong Kong was engulfed in widespread protests calling for greater freedom from China.. To quell the unrest, Beijing imposed a national security law in June 2020, days before the 47 democrats held the primary election that would lead to their arrests months later.

Advertisement

Most of the 47 have been jailed ever since. Their arrests effectively muted the city’s once-vocal opposition. China also imposed a drastic overhaul of election rules for Hong Kong that effectively barred pro-democracy candidates from running for seats in the legislature.

Protests began

Mass antigovernment protests began and escalated in intensity over months.

Advertisement

National security law enacted

The new law bans vaguely defined crimes of secession, subversion and terrorism, with a potential sentence of life in prison.

Pro-democracy primary

Pro-democracy candidates held a primary vote ahead of the upcoming Legislative Council election. The 47 defendants helped organize or participated in this event.

Original date of the election

Advertisement

47 people charged, most denied bail

They were charged with “conspiracy to commit subversion,” for organizing and participating in the pro-democracy primary. Most were denied bail and kept behind bars as a long legal process began.

New election rules announced

Advertisement

China announced new rules for Hong Kong elections, limiting candidates to only those deemed loyal to Beijing.

“Patriots-only” election takes place

More than 30 defendants were detained. Most of them had been jailed for almost two years before the trial even began.

Advertisement

Closing arguments concluded

Advertisement

Hong Kong passed its own national security law

A court began issuing verdicts

Advertisement

World

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war

Published

on

Investors brace for a bigger backlash from Middle East war
From being just a fringe risk, conflict in the Middle East has become a top worry for investors unsettled by the prospect of a power struggle in Iran and a protracted regional war, with ramifications for everything from global trade to inflation.
Continue Reading

World

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

Published

on

Tel Aviv analyst shelters from 30 missile sirens in 48 hours, says Iran ‘won’t recover’

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The past 48 hours in Tel Aviv have been unlike anything seen before, a leading security analyst has said, as sirens blared amid missile threats following Operation Epic Fury and U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran.

“We are facing a biblical event — nothing less,” Kobi Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital, speaking from his shelter in the city.

Like many Israelis, Michael said he had spent hours in reinforced rooms during the ongoing barrage, adding that he was “very experienced in this.”

“But this all requires time and determination, and I do hope that Trump will also have them both,” he said, speaking shortly after the president released a video message stating that the military operation would continue “until all of our objectives are achieved.”

Advertisement

Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system over Tel Aviv. (JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

“Trump is the only one who can make the change — and that change will impact the entire region and the international order for years to come,” Michael added.

As of Sunday, Tel Aviv remained under a state of emergency following Iranian missile attacks that caused casualties and widespread damage.

According to The Associated Press, Iranian missile and drone strikes have killed approximately 11 Israeli civilians and wounded dozens more in retaliation for the U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran.

Shrapnel from missile impacts damaged at least 40 buildings in Tel Aviv, and authorities reported at least one death in the area from falling debris.

Advertisement

The Philippine Embassy in Israel confirmed the death of a Filipino national after a missile strike hit Tel Aviv on Saturday.

TOMAHAWKS, B-2 STEALTH BOMBERS AND ATTACK DRONES POUND OVER 1,000 IRANIAN TARGETS IN 24-HOUR BLITZ

People take shelter as Iran launched missiles and drones towards Israel following the US-Israeli attacks. ( Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We enter our shelter once the siren is heard and stay there until the Home Front Command announces that we can leave,” Michael said.

“Usually, it is about 20 to 30 minutes — unless there are further sirens during our stay. Since yesterday morning, it has happened around 30 times.”

Advertisement

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog also visited an impact site in Tel Aviv Sunday, delivering a message of resilience.

“The people of Israel and the people of Iran can live in peace. The region can live in peace. But what undermines peace time and again is terror instigated by this Iranian regime,” Herzog said.

EXILED IRANIAN CROWN PRINCE SAYS US STRIKES MARK ‘BEGINNING OF THE VERY END’ FOR REGIME

Israeli emergency service officer walks past building debris at the scene of a Iranian missile attack. (Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP via Getty Images)

Following the reported killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, Iran formed a provisional leadership council.

Advertisement

Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, President Masoud Pezeshkian and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i to lead roles.

“The Supreme Leader did not complete the necessary groundwork regarding his own succession,” Michael added.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Pezeshkian will face very troubling challenges due to their heavy losses, severe disruptions to control and command systems, and the massive bombing and attacks across Iran, including Tehran,” he said.

“Even if this regime doesn’t collapse, it will never be able to reconstitute itself, recover or return to its previous position,” Michael added.

Advertisement

Related Article

Iranian 'dictator' death celebrated on air by Sky News Australia presenter, telling him to 'rot in hell'
Continue Reading

World

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Published

on

Israel FM says Europe too divided, slams Spanish PM

Israeli minister Gideon Sa’ar said Europe “does not have unified position” on what role it should play in Iran as European ministers sought to establish a joint approach Sunday.

ADVERTISEMENT


ADVERTISEMENT

As Israel and the United States conducted a joint military strike on Iran, leading to the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Europe was kept on the sidelines.

EU member states did not participate in the operation and, in some cases, they were not informed prior as it is customary among strategic allies.

Asked whether Israel sought to keep Europe on the margins, Sa’ar said internal divisions within EU member states had kept them out of critical exchanges of operational details, unlike the United States, which the minister described as his country’s greatest ally.

Advertisement

“In Europe, you have all kinds of approaches,” he told Euronews. “You have countries like the Czech Republic which is strongly supporting this operation and then you have Spain, which is standing with all the tyrants of the world.”

On Saturday, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez was among the most critical voices in Europe, suggesting the US-Israeli strikes on Iran risk plunging the region into total war.

“We reject the unilateral military action of the United States and Israel, which represents an escalation and contributes to a more uncertain and hostile international order,” Sánchez said Saturday. The Spanish PM reiterated that message on Sunday.

“We urge for de-escalation and call to respect international law in all conflicts,” Sánchez added. “You can be against a heinous regime, like the Iranian regime, while also rejecting a military intervention that is unjustified, dangerous and outside of international law.”

Sa’aar said Israel considers the operation “fully justified” citing the right to self-defense from a regime that “has called for the destruction of Israel” and lashed at the Spanish prime minister for sending an “anti-Israeli, anti-American message.”

Advertisement

“Read the statement, they are standing with Iran!” he added.

When asked if any of his European counterparts had manifested an interest in joining the military operation or provide support on the ground, Sa’ar said he held multiple exchanges with European ministers over the weekend and suggested that “if others want to join, they will know have to convey the message.”

On Sunday, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen appeared to back regime change in Iran in line with Israel and the US, saying that the “risk of further escalation is real. This is why a credible transition in Iran is urgently needed” in comments on Sunday.

Sa’ar told Euronews said the strategic strikes and the elimination of Khamenei alongside top regime commanders could “create the conditions to weaken the regime enough to allow the Iranians to take their future into their own hands”.

“The future leadership of Iran should be determined by the Iranian people through free elections. Our only requirement is that whoever comes to power in Iran must not pursue the destruction of Israel,” he said.

Advertisement

Watch the full interview on Euronews from 8pm CET

Continue Reading

Trending