If convicted of ‘conspiracy to undermine’, they could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The defendants were among 53 people – many prominent former lawmakers, activists and district councilors – who were arrested last month for organizing, planning and participating in a primary election for the city’s democratic opposition last July.
The event was designed to identify the strongest candidates for democracy planned during the election council in September last year, when the opposition camp was hoping to win a historic majority.
However, these elections were eventually postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but not before multiple Democratic candidates were disqualified – and there were warnings that those running in the by-elections could violate the then-weeks-old security law.
The 39 men and eight women charged on Sunday, aged between 23 and 64, are being held and will appear in West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Monday. According to their original bail agreements, they only had to report to the police in early April. But earlier this week, the group was asked to report to police on Sunday.
The charges on Sunday point to a comprehensive increase in the application of the national security law, under which previously only a handful of people were charged and taken to court.
The law criminalizes secession, undermining, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers, and matters under the law can be handled by a dedicated branch of the Hong Kong police and national security courts.
Hong Kong CEO Carrie Lam and others have previously promised that the law would come into force, targeting only a small number of fringe activists.
Anyone who does not take the oath – or is it considered in a sincere manner – would be immediately disqualified from office and banned from running in the next five years, said Erick Tsang, secretary of constitutional and continental affairs. , said.
This came after the only Hong Kong delegate to China’s leading legislature said that only ‘permanent patriots’ may hold power in Hong Kong.
Why should you punish a primary election?
Primary elections are a normal feature in democracies around the world. At the time of the vote in Hong Kong, the US Democratic primary, which Biden had won, was still going strong. Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have held such voices in the past, in an effort to adapt the organization and discipline of the rival pro-Beijing camp and avoid fragmented support.
However, the Secretary of Security in Hong Kong accuses those who organized the primary election in July of “paralyzing the Hong Kong government” by winning a majority in the legislature to veto government bills.
Voting against the budget and forcing the CEO to resign would have been legal before the National Security Act, similar to a “vote of no confidence” calling for a general election in many democracies. The city’s constitution also contains provisions to deal with such an event, enabling the chief executive to convene new legislative elections and pass a preliminary budget so that the government can continue to function.
When dozens of former lawmakers and opposition activists were arrested in January, Anthony Blinken, now the US Secretary of State, said ‘the far-reaching arrests of pro-democracy activists are an assault on those who encourage universal rights. . ‘
“The Biden-Harris government will stand with the people of Hong Kong and oppose Beijing’s repression of democracy,” Blinken added.
The British Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, warned in January that the British government “will not look the other way if the rights and autonomy of the people of Hong Kong are jeopardized.”
“When China first introduced national security legislation, they said it had to bring some stability to Hong Kong. What is clear from this action is that it is actually designed to destroy political dissent,” he said. Raab told CNN during an interview in London.