Court battle drags on for 47 activists, politicians

A long legal argument for bail dragged on to the middle of the night for the 47 politicians and activists charged with subversion for organizing or participating in the pro-democracy camp's primary elections last year.

As of 10.30pm, both sides were still arguing before chief magistrate Victor So Wai-tak at West Kowloon Magistrates' Court, who is one of the designated magistrates presiding over national security cases.

Only five defendants had addressed the court for their bail application in over five hours.

The defendants, who were each charged with one count of conspiracy to subvert state power under the national security law and appeared in a packed court room, face up to life in prison.

They allegedly advocated or participated in a scheme between July 1, 2019 and January 7, 2021 to abuse their powers as lawmakers if elected to seriously interfere, disrupt or undermine the performance of duties and functions in accordance with the law by "the body of power of the HKSAR."

Deputy director of public prosecutions Maggie Yang Mei-kei told the court that the scheme involved obtaining a controlling majority in Legco so as to indiscriminately refuse to pass any budget or public expenditure introduced by the government, compelling the chief executive to dissolve the legislature and paralyzing government operations

Occupy Central founder Benny Tai Yiu-ting, 56, promoted his "35-plus" strategy, which he described as a "constitutional weapon that could cause mass destruction," in multiple local newspapers and on social media last year, Yang said.

Former lawmaker Au Nok-hin, 33 then proposed on social media that a primary election be held with the help of Power for Democracy's convener Andrew Chiu Ka-yin, 35, and vice convener Chung Kam-lun, 32.

At the same time, Gordon Ng Ching-hang, 42, who goes by the pseudonym Lee Bak Lou on LIHKG, initiated a petition to affect voter sentiment. Ng also transferred HK$135,000 to Apple Daily for a front-page advert on July 3 last year promoting the primaries.

On June 9 last year, Tai announced that the primaries would be held on July 11 and 12. The 42 defendants of the case were among 52 candidates who ran in the primary elections.

Yang added that candidates incited or induced other peoples' decision on whether or not to stand in the Legco election, as all candidates agreed to respect the outcome of the primaries.

"Copies of nomination forms for the primary found in Chiu's office showed that all candidates signed a declaration saying they agreed and endorsed the consensus led by Tai and Au, including the '35-plus' strategy and its objectives," Yang said.

A joint declaration was also signed by most of the defendants last June, saying that they would use lawmakers' powers to veto the budget if elected to force the chief executive to respond to the protesters' five demands. Yang asked the court to adjourn the case for three months pending further police investigation.

Yang opposed all bail applications by the defendants, saying there were insufficient reason to believe all 47 would stop taking part in behavior that endangered national security.

Senior counsel Paul Harris, representing former lawmaker Helena Wong Pik-wan, said the grounds of the case were weak.

The defendants wanted to use legitimate means to maximize their chance to enter the legislature. Accusing them of trying to paralyze the operation of the government was twisting their original intent, Harris said.

The defense also criticized the adjournment as being too long.

Senior counsel Hectar Pun Hei, representing four defendants, including "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, said: "This is outrageous and a complete abuse of power and procedures to adjourn the case on one hand and oppose all defendants' bail application on another."

Martin Hui Siu-ting, the former deputy director of public prosecutions, is among the lawyers representing the defendants.

michael.shum@singtaonewscorp.com