Benny Tai. File photo: Jennifer Creery/HKFP. Used with permission.

This report was written by Kelly Ho and published in Hong Kong Free Press on November 19 and 21, 2024. The following edited version is published as part of a content partnership agreement.

Pro-democracy activist Benny Tai has been jailed for 10 years over organising an unofficial primary election in 2020, as Hong Kong’s High Court delivered sentences in the city’s largest national security case to date.

Tai was among 45 pro-democracy figures sentenced on November 19 after being convicted of conspiring to commit subversion, an offence under the Beijing-imposed national security law.

Handing down a 10-year sentence to Tai, judges Andrew Chan, Alex Lee and Johnny Chan described Tai as the “mastermind” behind the conspiracy in their judgement.

Tai was initially given a 15-year sentence, which was cut to 10 years after the judges, each of whom has been handpicked to preside over national security cases, considered his guilty plea. “The only mitigation in [Tai’s] case was his early plea of guilty. To that, the customarily one-third discount would be given,” the judgement read.

Ex-district councillor Andrew Chiu was sentenced to seven years after his initial sentence was reduced by half, with the judges taking into account his guilty plea and assistance to the prosecution.

Chiu was one of four democrats who testified for the prosecution, along with Au Nok-hin, Ben Chung and Mike Lam. Lam, the only defendant to have remained on bail throughout proceedings, was sentenced to five years and two months in jail.

The second-longest sentence was meted out to activist Owen Chow, who was given seven years and nine months in jail to be served separately from a five-year sentence for rioting.

The court ruled that Chow’s role as an initiator of an online petition to rally “radical” candidates constituted an aggravating factor. Former district councillor Wong Ji-yuet’s four years and five months will also be served consecutively with a three-year sentence for rioting.

Joshua Wong, who became known around the world for his student activism, was given a one-third discount because he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. Taking into account Wong’s previous convictions dating back to 2016, the judges said they “did not consider [Wong] to be a person of good character.” The judges said:

The sentence we passed on [Wong] also would not have a crushing effect on him.

Former Stand News journalist Gwyneth Ho, who did not submit a mitigation plea, was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Veteran activist and former lawmaker “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung was sentenced to six years and nine months in prison. His 24 prior convictions, some of which involved unauthorised assemblies, meant that the judges “were [not] in a position to describe [Leung] as having a positive good character.”

Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam, Claudia Mo, Andy Chui, and Gary Fan received the lowest sentences of four years and two months.

Under Hong Kong’s Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, which was enacted in March to plug “loopholes” left by Beijing’s security legislation, inmates serving time in prison for national security offences are subject to a higher threshold for early release, making remission unlikely.

Many of the democrats have been detained since being taken into police custody and charged on February 28, 2021, meaning they have served over three years and eight months already.

‘Constitutional chaos’

At the centre of the case was the July 2020 election primary, through which the opposition camp hoped to identify candidates to help it win majority control of the legislature in an upcoming election.

The judges ruled that the democrats had intended to abuse their powers to indiscriminately veto the government budget and force the chief executive to resign if they had indeed won a majority.

In a 319-page judgement in May, the judges wrote that Tai’s goal was to “undermine, destroy or overthrow the existing political system and structure of [Hong Kong] established under the Basic Law and the policy of One Country, Two Systems,” China's policy that gives it governance over Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. This would have plunged the city into a “constitutional crisis,” they ruled.

Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts — broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the United Nations and NGOs.

In response to the ruling, the US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller issued a statement saying that it would take steps to impose new visa restrictions on Hong Kong officials. Miller said:

The 45 defendants sentenced today were aggressively prosecuted, and many now face life-altering imprisonment simply for their peaceful participation in political activities which are protected under the Basic Law of Hong Kong… In response, the Department of State is taking steps to impose new visa restrictions on multiple Hong Kong officials responsible for implementation of the [national security law].

Also, in a statement, the Hong Kong government slammed the US's sanction plan as a “despicable political manipulation.” It said:

Any reasonable and fair person, upon reviewing the court’s judgment, would be convinced of the severity of the crime and the guilt of the convicted individuals, supported by irrefutable evidence. Despite these ironclad facts, Western countries, anti-China organisations and politicians, and foreign media continue to distort the truth and maliciously attack.