Dozens of ex-opposition lawmakers, activists arrested under national security law

All 53 pro-democracy camp ex-lawmakers and activists, including Occupy co-founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting except for one remained in custody overnight in the biggest security national law swoop for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government by organizing a primary election for Legco candidates.

They were among the first people to be arrested for subversion since Beijing enacted the national security law for Hong Kong on June 30 last year.

Tai, who is also a former law professor at the University of Hong Kong, and at least five of the suspects were arrested for subverting the government by organizing a primary of the Legislative Council election in an attempt to use strategic voting to win at least 35 seats in the legislature, veto the budget to paralyze the government operation and force the resignation of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, said Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu.

The mass arrest was the largest since the security law came into effect on June 30 last year, with 1,000 police officers called in for the swoop from the force's national security department, crime wing, regional crime unit and police tactical unit.

Among the 45 men and eight women arrested for subversion, aged 23 to 64, six people including Tai allegedly organized the primary election and 47 others participated in it. It is understood they will be detained overnight in police stations for further enquiries except for former lawmaker Au Nok-hin who was released on bail as he was undergoing mandatory quarantine in a hotel.

Officers also froze HK$1.6 million and raided 72 premises throughout the city, said senior superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah of the police national security department at a press briefing illustrated with charts of how Tai orchestrated the plot since March last year.

The other five coordinators of the primary were Au, human rights lawyer John Clancey, vice chairman of Eastern District Council Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, chairman of Sai Kung District Council Chung Kam-lun, and Ng Ching-hang, who goes by the pseudonym name Lee Bak Lou on LIHKG forum.

Li said: "We are finding some people have been seriously interfering, and disrupting and undermining the operation of the Hong Kong government by means of having a plan, the so-called 35-plus."

"Starting in March last year, they have some ideas of how to take advantage of the seats in the Legco to eventually object to the budget and then after that, the chief executive will resign, leading to stopping the operations of the Hong Kong government," he added.

Li said the advocate (Tai) of the plan raised the idea in March last year and proposed a solid plan in April. The arrestees aimed to get at least 35 seats in Legco, and then refuse to pass the budget twice in order to stop the operation of the SAR government.

In June, the arrestees started crowdfunding and announced they would hold a primary election in July.

They also hired a public opinion research institute for voting arrangement and analysis, posted on social media and held forums for participants.

They held a two-day primary election on July 11 and 12, and later announced the results in a high profile manner, Li said.

“After the primary, some of the participants said they will continue their commitment to reject the budget ... and [that is] subversive," he said.

Li said other countries also have similar primary elections, but their primaries are to elect suitable candidates. However, the primary held by the arrestees only has one goal -- to paralyze the government.

He also said the arrestees tried to implement their proposal to paralyze the government. “I will give an example, there is no problem with someone driving a car, but if that person turned out is to go robbing, then it is illegal,” he said.

Fifteen other former lawmakers who participated in the primary election were arrested -- Claudia Mo Man-ching, Wu Chi-wai, James To Kun-sun, Andrew Wan Siu-kin, Lam Cheuk-ting, Roy Kwong Chun-yu, Helena Wong Pik-wan, Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu, Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam Man-ho, 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung, Gary Fan Kwok-wai, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and Joseph Lee Kok-long.

Activists Ventus Lau Wing-hong, former journalist Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Confederation of Trade Unions chairwoman Carol Ng Man-yee and Hospital Authority Employees Alliance chairwoman Winnie Yu Wai-ming were also arrested.

A post on Joshua Wong's Facebook page said officers also raided his home in relation to the case. The activist is in prison over a protest outside police headquarters in 2019. 

Several participants in the primary election have fled overseas including former lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung and activist Sunny Cheung Kwan-yang.

Speaking to reporters after a Legco meeting, Security minister Lee said the arrests targeted “active elements” suspected to have planned to paralyze the SAR government.

He said their plan was “evil” and if it succeeded, the city will “fall into the abyss again” and society will be severely damaged.

“The people involved are suspected of making use of what they called a 35-plus plan and a 10-step mutual destruction scheme to in some way paralyze the Hong Kong government,” he said.

“They had a 10-step mutual destruction plan, in which they would be mobilizing large-scale riots in the streets together with other actions to in some way paralyze society, coupled with international sanctions,” Lee said.

"The plan was to create mutual destruction so that society as a whole, using their words, 'jumps off the cliff'. The plot was to cause such a mutual destruction that if successful, this 10-step mutual destruction plan would result in serious damage to society as a whole. That is why police action today is necessary,” he added.

The government later said in a statement that it will not tolerate any offence of subversion, and the police will combat such offence with "full effort".

Tai published the plan on his Facebook and local media in April last year titled “ten step to laam chau” -- a term used by local protesters in anti-fugitive bill protests which means mutual destruction with the government, best expressed in the slogan “if we burn, you burn with us”.

Tai's plan covered the period 2020 to 2022, starting with pro-democracy lawmakers getting more than half of the 70 Legco seats. By repeatedly voting down the government's funding request, the CE will have to step down in accordance with Basic Law.

He envisioned that a new CE will be appointed and a provisional Legco will be formed, and the city would be in chaos after large scale arrests, massive strikes and riots, and eventually triggering foreign sanctions.  

The pan-democrats held the poll to choose candidates for September's Legco elections, which the government then postponed.

At the time, Chief Executive Carrie Lam warned the primaries could amount to an act of subversion.

The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau also said in a statement last July that the government had received complaints that the primaries "may have allegedly interfered with and manipulated" the elections and jeopardised the integrity of the electoral process.