HK alliance, its ex-leaders found guilty of inciting subversion

The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region convicted on Friday a now-dismantled political alliance and its former leaders of inciting subversion by stirring up public hatred toward the Communist Party of China and advocating ending the CPC's leadership.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and its former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, former vice-chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan, who pleaded guilty in January, and former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung were charged in 2021 under the National Security Law of the HKSAR.

In the 200-page judgment handed down on Friday, three national security judges — Alex Lee Wan-tang, Johnny Chan Jong-herng and Anna Lai Yuen-kee — said that the defendants understood that the alliance's agenda of ending the leadership of the CPC would contravene the Constitution of the People's Republic of China following the implementation of the NSL on June 30, 2020, but "refused to pull back from the brink and were bent on embracing the resistance line of the alliance to the very end".

The judges agreed that, as "the defining feature" of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the CPC's leadership is an integral element of the country's "fundamental system". Therefore, advocating the removal of the CPC is tantamount to "overthrowing" or "undermining" the fundamental system stipulated in Article 22 of the law.

The judges also criticized the defendants for using the "Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill" disturbance in 2019 to "stir up the hostility of their target audience toward the CPC, eroding and undermining the public's confidence in the leadership by the CPC".

Pleas for mitigation will be allowed until Aug 28.

In a statement released on Friday, the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the HKSAR said that the verdict "demonstrates the spirit of the rule of law and upholds the authority of the HKSAR National Security Law".

The office said that the evidence presented in court showed that the defendants fabricated negative topics, and frequently used terms such as "resistance" and "disobedience". They organized and incited the public to attend marches and rallies, disseminating their message through newspapers and other media in an attempt to stir up hatred, hostility and disaffection toward the central government, while inciting people to subvert the CPC's leadership and undermine the country's fundamental system.

A spokesperson for the office said that the ruling aligns with Hong Kong's fundamental interests and reflects public consensus, marking a necessary requirement for the "full and accurate implementation" of the NSL and is "a righteous move" to safeguard national security in accordance with the law. The spokesperson also said that the office will firmly support the SAR's executive, legislative and judicial authorities in fulfilling their constitutional duty to safeguard national security.

The guilty verdict was also welcomed locally.

HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that over a long period, the alliance had been deliberately "planting seeds of hatred" within Hong Kong society, attempting to incite disaffection, hatred and other sentiments within the public against the CPC and the central government through various means, and inciting people to subvert State power.

Lee said that the defendants' actions had endangered national security, adding that their conspiracy was "abundantly clear, which must be brought to justice".

"This case once again demonstrates that … the HKSAR government will ensure that laws are observed and strictly enforced to bring the offenders to account," Lee said.

Speaking to the media on Friday, HKSAR Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung said the verdict upholds legal justice.