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Benny Tai Yiu-ting

Police officers stand guard outside West Kowloon Court amid legal proceedings. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Hong Kong 47: lawyer suggests looking to mainland court precedent, creates stir

City’s national security law and mainland’s criminal code are enacted by the same legislative body, defence counsel Cheung Yiu-leung says.

City’s national security law and mainland’s criminal code are enacted by the same legislative body, defence counsel Cheung Yiu-leung says

2 Jul 2024 - 9:39PM

Benny Tai’s pre-Hong Kong security law actions relevant for sentencing: judges

26 Jun 2024 - 9:44PM

Hong Kong 47: Benny Tai’s lawyers ask for 2-year jail term for subversion

25 Jun 2024 - 11:15PM

Mitigation pleas for 5 convicted over 2020 unofficial Legco primary to start

Legal academic Benny Tai and four others to appear at West Kowloon Court on Tuesday, with lawyers to plead for lighter sentences.

25 Jun 2024 - 9:00AM

Benny Tai (right) speaks to the media outside West Kowloon Court in 2019. Photo: Robert Ng

John Lee urges Hongkongers to stay vigilant against national security threats

Chief Executive John Lee says criminals will use excuses to mislead public and engage in actions endangering national security.

4 Jun 2024 - 5:33PMvideocam

Hong Kong 47: 14 found guilty, 2 cleared over election plot to topple government

Three High Court judges find unofficial ‘primary’ election part of a wider plot to ‘undermine, destroy or overthrow’ government by creating constitutional crisis.

31 May 2024 - 2:37AM

Hong Kong court to rule on 16 opposition figures over plot to subvert state power

Group is among 47 people prosecuted for what Beijing calls a ‘blatant challenge’ to the law after estimated 610,000 voted in July 2020 to pick candidates for Legco election.

31 May 2024 - 1:13AM

A group of 16 opposition politicians and activists are among 47 people prosecuted for what Beijing called a “blatant challenge” to the law following a July 2020 poll. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong 47: court hears closing submissions over subversion allegations

Hong Kong 47: Prosecution tells court ‘unlawful means’ do not require an element of violence to put country’s safety at risk.

29 Nov 2023 - 8:41PM

Opinion | Rights vs security: whether Hong Kong or US, all must find their own balance

Complex domestic factors are at play, as seen in the US extradition demand for Assange and Hong Kong’s protest crackdown. The proper forum for human rights protection should be the jurisdictions’ judiciary.

14 Nov 2023 - 9:30AM

Informant admits giving recordings from meeting of Hong Kong 47 to police

Witness, who cannot be named due to gag order, denies infiltrating opposition camp to gather evidence, insists recording were for private ‘research’.

9 May 2023 - 8:07PM

The city’s West Kowloon Law Courts Building, where the trial is taking place. Photo: Jelly Tse

US artist says work including names of Hong Kong opposition activists removed

Patrick Amadon says accusations he supports ‘rioters’ in Hong Kong are correct but he would not reveal his location.

24 Mar 2023 - 12:19AMvideocam

US artist Patrick Amadon on Thursday said that his artwork “No Rioters, 2023” was “taken down at the request of the government”. It was shown on the giant LED screen in Causeway Bay. Photo: Handout

Court told Hong Kong opposition primary became ‘insane’ bid to oust city leader

Au Nok-hin says he insisted primary candidates should not be forced to veto budgets because of risk of breaches of national security law.

9 Mar 2023 - 9:18AMvideocam

Opposition veteran says ‘no regrets’ over loss of Hong Kong civic honours

Democratic Party ex-chairman Yeung Sum argues role in unauthorised assembly was ‘matter of honour and conscience’, no regret over lost Silver Bauhinia Star.

10 Jun 2022 - 8:14PM

Hong Kong activist Benny Tai gets 10 months’ jail in election expenses case

Tai, 57, had admitted the breaches in connection with ‘ThunderGo’ strategy that was aimed at maximising chances of opposition hopefuls in 2016 Legco election.

24 May 2022 - 7:55PM

Benny Tai has been remanded in custody since last year over a national security case. Photo: Winson Wong

Hong Kong activist Benny Tai pleads guilty to illegally incurring election expenses

Case centres on ‘ThunderGo’ strategy aimed at maximising chances of opposition hopefuls in 2016 Legco election.

25 Apr 2022 - 6:15PM

Benny Tai at a detention centre last year. Photo: Winson Wong

Benny Tai election case shifts to Hong Kong court with tougher sentencing

Tai and his co-defendants were granted bail on Friday, though the long-time activist will remain behind bars awaiting trial on national security law charges.

8 Sep 2021 - 2:06PMvideocam

Ex-Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai hit with charges over 2016 elections

City’s anti-graft watchdog said it was acting on complaints in bringing charges against Tai, psychologist Ip Kim-ching and Sek Sau-ching.

27 Jul 2021 - 12:05AMvideocam

A year under the national security law: arrests, sanctions, and a swifter Legco

Advocates of law argue it was badly needed to protect national sovereignty, but critics say it has been weaponised and used to silence dissent.

1 Jul 2021 - 2:37AMvideocam

In the year since its introduction, the national security law has left few facets of Hong Kong society untouched. Photo: Dickson Lee

Bail denied again for 11 defendants in Hong Kong’s biggest security law case

Of the 21 defendants challenging bail decisions, 11 are denied temporary release and the remainder rescind their applications late on. Forty-seven in total accused of plotting to paralyse the government.

12 Mar 2021 - 2:15PM

Benny Tai sent back to jail to await court’s ruling in Occupy Central appeal

Tai and his co-defendants, Chan Kin-man and Chu Yiu-ming, are appealing against their convictions on public nuisance charges the 2014 protest movement.

4 Mar 2021 - 8:45PMvideocam

Court hears Occupy co-founders merely engaged in ‘conspiracy to inspire’

Benny Tai, Chan Kin-man and Chu Yiu-ming are challenging their conviction on conspiracy and incitement charges stemming from their roles in the civil disobedience movement.

3 Mar 2021 - 3:38AM

The appeal against the 2019 conviction of the co-founders of the Occupy Central movement kicked off on Tuesday. Photo: EPA

Explainer | Why has an election strategy left opposition activists facing subversion charge?

On Sunday, 47 opposition figures were charged with conspiring to subvert state power over their roles in an unofficial primary ahead of the now-postponed Legislative Council elections in 2020. Prosecutors say the bid to win a majority was part of a plot to overthrow the government.

1 Mar 2021 - 11:36PMvideocam

Localist candidates attend a press conference in Mong Kok on the democratic primaries. Photo: Sam Tsang

Beijing official, pro-establishment figures agree on need to put ‘patriots’ in charge

Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, tells seminar in Shenzhen that ‘patriots governing Hong Kong’ is paramount to the future of ‘one country, two systems’.

10 Mar 2021 - 12:39AM

Hong Kong activists disband democracy group in face of national security law

Power for Democracy committee members vote on Saturday to immediately cease all operations, day before activists charged with subversion report to police.

27 Feb 2021 - 11:28PMvideocam

Opposition activists detained in mass security law arrests have bail extended

Benny Tai one of 52 figures who reported to police stations across the city on Wednesday. Group must report back again on April 8, but three other activists, including Joshua Wong, remain behind bars.

10 Feb 2021 - 11:48PMvideocam

Benny Tai arrives at Ma On Shan Police Station on Wednesday. Photo: Nora Tam

Opinion | The sinister aspect of democrats’ ‘35-plus’ primaries strategy

The powers given to legislators under the Basic Law must be exercised in good faith. If the whole essence of their endeavours is to wreak havoc, and bring down the government, then they are using the Basic Law as a disguise for subversive activities.

1 Dec 2021 - 2:20PMvideocam

Voters wait in line during the “35-plus” primaries on July 11, 2020, held to select pro-democrat candidates for the since postponed Legislative Council elections in Hong Kong. Photo: EPA-EFE

My Take | Deep question lies behind Hong Kong mass arrests

Mutual destruction has been cited for the unsanctioned primary election run-off last July, but did most people have that in mind when they organised and voted in it?

9 Jan 2021 - 1:55AMvideocam

Benny Tai among Hong Kong opposition figures released by police after crackdown

Authorities contend that the opposition camp’s campaigning for primary elections held last July included plans to ‘paralyse’ and ‘overthrow’ the government.

8 Jan 2021 - 12:17PMvideocam

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Benny Tai Yiu-ting

Benny Tai Yiu-ting, born in 1964, is an associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong. He initiated the Occupy Central with Love and Peace campaign in January 2013, demanding universal suffrage by "international standards" for the 2017 Chief Executive election and 2020 Legislative Council Elections.