Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month.
Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021.
"Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan.
Photo: Reuters
"I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels like today is my first day of understanding the world again. So, as for what I can do or should do in the future, or where is the red line, I feel like I need to explore and figure it out all over again," said Sham.
CHRF was one of the largest pro-democracy groups in the former British colony and helped to organize million-strong marches during pro-democracy protests in 2019 that turned violent at times and had a major impact on business and tourism.
The others who were released were Kinda Li (李嘉達), Roy Tam (譚凱邦) and Henry Wong (王百羽).
At the end of last month, former pro-democracy lawmakers Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒), Jeremy Tam (譚文豪) and Gary Fan (范國威) were released from three separate prisons across Hong Kong around dawn.
Three others are expected to be released next month, including former activists Frankie Fung (馮達浚), Nathan Lau (劉澤鋒) and Carol Ng (吳敏兒), according to local media.
Since the 2019 protests, which disrupted Hong Kong for most of that year, China has cracked down on the democratic opposition as well as liberal civil society and media outlets under sweeping national security laws that were imposed in 2020.
The 47 pro-democracy campaigners were arrested and charged in early 2021 with conspiracy to commit subversion under a Beijing-imposed national law which carries sentences of up to life in prison.
Forty-five of the defendants were convicted following a marathon trial, and given sentences of as long as 10 years. Only two were acquitted.
The democrats were found guilty of organizing an unofficial "primary election" in 2020 to select their candidates for a legislative election that was later postponed. Prosecutors accused the activists of plotting to paralyze the government by engaging in potentially disruptive acts had they been elected.
Some Western governments including the US called the trial politically motivated and had demanded the democrats be freed.
Hong Kong and Beijing say all are equal under the national security laws and the democrats received a fair trial.
Additional reporting by Fion Khan
‘SHORTSIGHTED’: Using aid as leverage is punitive, would not be regarded well among Pacific Island nations and would further open the door for China, an academic said New Zealand has suspended millions of dollars in budget funding to the Cook Islands, it said yesterday, as the relationship between the two constitutionally linked countries continues to deteriorate amid the island group’s deepening ties with China. A spokesperson for New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters said in a statement that New Zealand early this month decided to suspend payment of NZ$18.2 million (US$11 million) in core sector support funding for this year and next year as it “relies on a high trust bilateral relationship.” New Zealand and Australia have become increasingly cautious about China’s growing presence in the Pacific
Indonesia’s Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki yesterday erupted again with giant ash and smoke plumes after forcing evacuations of villages and flight cancelations, including to and from the resort island of Bali. Several eruptions sent ash up to 5km into the sky on Tuesday evening to yesterday afternoon. An eruption on Tuesday afternoon sent thick, gray clouds 10km into the sky that expanded into a mushroom-shaped ash cloud visible as much as 150km kilometers away. The eruption alert was raised on Tuesday to the highest level and the danger zone where people are recommended to leave was expanded to 8km from the crater. Officers also
The team behind the long-awaited Vera Rubin Observatory in Chile yesterday published their first images, revealing breathtaking views of star-forming regions as well as distant galaxies. More than two decades in the making, the giant US-funded telescope sits perched at the summit of Cerro Pachon in central Chile, where dark skies and dry air provide ideal conditions for observing the cosmos. One of the debut images is a composite of 678 exposures taken over just seven hours, capturing the Trifid Nebula and the Lagoon Nebula — both several thousand light-years from Earth — glowing in vivid pinks against orange-red backdrops. The new image
ESPIONAGE: The British government’s decision on the proposed embassy hinges on the security of underground data cables, a former diplomat has said A US intervention over China’s proposed new embassy in London has thrown a potential resolution “up in the air,” campaigners have said, amid concerns over the site’s proximity to a sensitive hub of critical communication cables. The furor over a new “super-embassy” on the edge of London’s financial district was reignited last week when the White House said it was “deeply concerned” over potential Chinese access to “the sensitive communications of one of our closest allies.” The Dutch parliament has also raised concerns about Beijing’s ideal location of Royal Mint Court, on the edge of the City of London, which has so
RSS