China’s top spy agency calls Hong Kong 47 court case ‘pivotal test’ of rule of law
- Conviction of 14 opposition figures for subversion also warning that those who challenge national defence will be punished, agency says
The Ministry of State Security on Tuesday also said the ruling was a warning to all “anti-China troublemakers” and foreign forces that any attempts to challenge the country’s national defence would be “severely punished”.
It was the first time the ministry had weighed in on the city’s biggest trial under the Beijing-imposed national security law. The High Court last month convicted 14 out of 16 opposition activists who contested the charges over an unofficial “primary” election in 2020 that was deemed subversive.
Thirty-one others had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit subversion and face possible prison terms ranging from three years to life.
The ministry said the trial, which lasted 118 days, also asserted the “authority of the rule of law” and clarified legal disputes surrounding the national security legislation and the definition of relevant provisions.
“It declared Hong Kong’s zero-tolerance attitude towards the subversion of state power and allowed Hong Kong’s legal system for safeguarding national security to bare its teeth and thorns,” the post on WeChat said.
“This will have far-reaching implications for future rulings on similar cases in Hong Kong.”
The ministry said the ruling also served as a warning to “anti-China troublemakers in Hong Kong” and external forces from the United States and the rest of the West that “whoever dares to challenge China’s national security” would be “severely punished by the law”.
Shortly after the verdicts were announced on May 30, an American government agency, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, urged US President Joe Biden’s administration to sanction Hong Kong judges and prosecutors responsible for the “political prosecutions”.
Britain’s minister for the Indo-Pacific, Anne Marie Trevelyan, also said the verdict would “tarnish Hong Kong’s international reputation” and “send a message that residents could no longer safely and meaningfully participate in peaceful political debate”.
China’s top spy agency called such comments and threats of sanctions from external forces of the West “noise”, saying they were doomed to fail and would make mainland Chinese and Hong Kong residents more united.
Last week, Hong Kong’s Department of Justice filed an appeal over the High Court’s acquittal of barrister Lawrence Lau Wai-chung, one of the 16 opposition figures who contested the subversion charges. The department said it would not pursue the second acquitted defendant, social worker Lee Yue-shun.
The court will hear mitigation claims from the others who were convicted on June 25.
Separately, Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu said he would present the Chief Executive’s Award for Exemplary Performance to the team behind the legislation of the city’s domestic national security law, including staff from the Department of Justice, Security Bureau and police.
Lee said the award was well-deserved for the efforts to fulfil Hong Kong’s constitutional responsibility by enacting the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance after more than 26 years of delays.
