Biweekly political prisoner trial developments in Hong Kong (23 December - 10 January)
Development 1: Hong Kong government issues six more arrest warrants
On 24 December 2024, the Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang issued more arrest warrants with HK$1 million (£102,700) bounties for six exiled Hong Kongers who now peacefully advocate for democracy in the UK and Canada. The full list includes Carmen Lau, Chloe Cheung, Tony Chung, Chung Kim-wah, Victor Ho Leung-mau and Joe Tay.
Joseph Tay is a former TVB actor and co-founded the ‘NGO HongKonger Station’ which provides “uncensored information”, based in Canada. Victor Ho is a YouTuber and also based in Canada. They are both Canadian citizens.
Carmen Lau is the Senior Advocacy Associate for the Hong Kong Democracy Council, based in London. Chloe Chueng is only 19 and the Communications and Media Assistant for the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, also based in London.
Tony Chung fled to the UK last December after serving nearly four years in prison over a national security offence. Mr Chung is the former convenor of the now-defunct pro-independence group Studentlocalism. Chung Kim-wah is a former pollster at the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, also based in the UK.
Hong Kong Watch condemned the arrest warrants which were accompanied by the cancellation of the HKSAR passports of Hong Kongers who were issued bounties in 2023. We also led a joint statement from former and current Canadian parliamentarians on the arrest warrants and bounties by the Hong Kong government on Canadian citizens.
Development 2: Hong Kong government cancels passports of seven activists
On the same day the Hong Kong government issued another round of bounties (see above), they cancelled the HKSAR passports of seven “absconders” under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
The special orders of passport cancellations and the prohibition of dealing with funds in Hong Kong were issued against Ted Hui (Australia), Joey Siu (US), Anna Kwok (US), Elmer Yuen (US), Dennis Kwok (US), Kevin Yam (Australia), and Frances Hui (US). Each of them has a HK$1 million bounty on their head over alleged national security offences. Following the announcement, Mr Yam, an Australian citizen, said that he did not hold a Hong Kong passport and had never applied for one.
In June, similar orders were imposed on six other “fugitives” who were issued bounties in 2023. This means that all 13 Hong Kongers who were issued bounties in 2023 have now had their passports cancelled.
Development 3: Court hears challenge against sedition law conviction
Today, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) heard its first challenge against a conviction and sentence under the colonial-era sedition law. The challenge was brought by former radio host Tam Tak-chi, also known as “Fast Beat,” who was found guilty and jailed for 40 months by the District Court in 2022 for 11 charges including uttering seditious words.
The five-judge panel was tasked with reviewing whether the sedition offences indictable offences that must be tried in the Court of First Instance before a judge and jury, and wether the prosecution was required to prove the defendant’s intention to incite third parties to violence or public disorder for the sedition offences charged in Mr Tam’s case.
The three-hour hearing featured a legal debate concerning the interplay of legislation, including provisions in the Beijing-imposed National Security Law, the Crimes Ordinance, the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, and the Magistrates’ Ordinance. The public awaits the court’s final judgment.
Development 4: Sedition case adjourned
Chow Kim-ho, the fourth person charged for sedition under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance over allegedly publishing “seditious” posts online, has had his case adjourned to await the verdict of a landmark appeal by Tam Tak-chi (see above).
The content posted by Mr Chow was allegedly related to hatred of the Chinese Communist Party and Taiwan independence, among other topics. Mr Chow’s lawyer argued that the outcome of Mr Tam’s case could inform Mr Chow’s decision on how to plead in his own case. Mr Chow’s case was adjourned to 27 January, and his legal team will have to inform the court by 21 January on how he intends to plead.
Development 5: Chief Justice Questions Right to Fair Trial
Hong Kong’s top judge, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, has questioned whether a rule that allowed certain information to be kept from three Tiananmen vigil activists throughout their national security trial made a fair hearing an “impossible task.”
Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan, and Tsui Hon-kwong, who were members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China before it disbanded in September 2021, were sentenced to four and a half months in jail in 2023 for failing to comply with the police request. They were seeking to challenge their conviction over refusing to provide information to national security police to assist with an investigation.
During the trial and appeals at lower courts, heavily redacted information was presented as evidence that the Alliance had acted as a “foreign agent.” The trio rejected the categorisation and argued that the withholding of such information had denied them a fair trial.