Political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong last week (7-11 August)

Trial of the 47 democrats

Week 27: (7-11 August)

The long-anticipated trial of the 47 democrats opened on Monday 6 February 2023. The trial concerns the 47 democrats who organised or participated in “unofficial” primaries in July 2020. As a result of these primaries, 55 people were arrested in January 2021, in the largest crackdown since the National Security Law was passed. 

Of these, 47 have been accused of “conspiracy to commit subversion” and are now facing trial. The majority of defendants have been in detention for 2 years, as only 13 have been granted bail. 31 of the defendants have pleaded guilty. This is one of the most significant trials since the National Security Law (NSL) was passed.

Here are the updates on the twenty-seventh week of the trial of the 47 democrats:

Development 1: Owen Chow testifies

Owen Chow, the 26 year-old pro-democracy activist who is among the 47 democrats, testified this week. 

He stated that he considered quitting the unofficial election primaries because of concerns after the national security law was passed, but ultimately decided that he could not “abandon the crowd.” He said that he and his team read the new law in detail and agreed that they face the risk of arrest for their past statements, but that it was important to persevere nevertheless. 

He said that national security was very broad, vague, and its scope was unclear - he described the situation as “like blind men touching an elephant…” which is a Chinese idiom that refers to people having a limited understanding of a complex situation. 

Although he decided not to withdraw from the unofficial election primaries, he did decide to tone down his election slogans. However, the judges said there was little difference between the slogans before and after. 

Additionally, the Judge asked Chow why he stated that he would uphold the Basic Law. Chow replied that he saw the Basic Law as the constitution of Hong Kong, and it should limit the power of those in charge. The judge then asked Chow whether he pledged allegiance to the Basic Law “as it should be” or the “actual” Basic Law.

On Thursday, Chow was asked about a press conference held on July 15, 2020, by a group of candidates from the self-declared resistance camp, a few days before the unofficial primary elections themselves. Chow was asked who organised this press conference, and whether he agreed with the candidate Lester Shum. 

Chow clarified that the government did not have to meet all five demands from the protest movement, but that he wanted a response, and could press them on the other demands later on. He said that if the response to the five demands was inadequate, he would have voted against the budget. 

Other Developments

Development 1: Hong Kong National Security Police arrest 10 in relation to 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund

On Thursday, 10 individuals were arrested for their links to the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. They have been accused of “conspiracy to collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security”, contravening Article 29 of the National Security Law (NSL) and inciting riot.

According to the Hong Kong Police Force, they violated the NSL by receiving “donations from various overseas organisations to support people who have fled overseas or organisations which called for sanctions against Hong Kong.” The police had court warrants to arrest the 10 individuals, as well as search their homes and offices, and seize documents and electronics.

Development 2: Family of Anna Kwok questioned 

On Tuesday, the Hong Kong national security police detained the parents of US-based pro-democracy activist Anna Kwok.

Kwok is the executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, a non-profit organisation that supports the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. She is accused by Hong Kong’s national security police of colluding with foreign forces. She is among the 8 activists against whom the Hong Kong national security police issued arrest warrants and bounties of HKD 1 million.

This was the latest escalation in the application of the Hong Kong National Security Law against opposition figures, in particular since the announcement of arrest warrants and bounties against the eight activists in exile.

On 11 July, the family members of ex-lawmaker Nathan Law were also taken away and questioned. On 20 July, in a similar move, police took away questioned family members of trade unionist Christopher Mung Siu-tat and ex-lawmaker Dennis Kwok Wing-hang, and searched their homes. Then on 24 July, police detained the son and daughter of Elmer Yuen.