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Hong Kong courts
Hong KongLaw and Crime

Hong Kong 47: court hears closing submissions on conspiracy to commit subversion charges over unofficial Legislative Council primary

  • Prosecution tells West Kowloon Court ‘unlawful means’ do not require an element of violence to put country’s safety at risk
  • Judges told by defence lawyers national security law does not specify that subversion could be committed by non-violent means

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Closing submissions have started in the trial of 47 opposition figures accuses of conspiracy to commit subversion. Photo: Dickson Lee
Brian Wong

A failed attempt by 47 Hong Kong opposition figures to win control of the legislature through an unofficial primary election would have been capable of subverting state power even if no violence was used, a court has heard.

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West Kowloon Court on Wednesday started to hear closing submissions from prosecutors and counsel for 16 of the group who denied a charge of taking part in a conspiracy to commit subversion, one of four offences criminalised by the Beijing-imposed 2020 national security law.
The trial, which began in February, was told the 47 intended to paralyse the city government and topple then-chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor by seizing a majority in the Legislative Council and using it to block government budgets.

Four primary organisers, including legal academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting, were among 31 defendants who pleaded guilty or indicated they would admit liability.

A major contention at trial was whether the remaining 16 defendants had used any “unlawful means” to achieve their political goals.

Gordon Ng he could not have been involved in the alleged conspiracy because of minimal contact with those said to be organisers, the court heard. Photo: Facebook.
Gordon Ng he could not have been involved in the alleged conspiracy because of minimal contact with those said to be organisers, the court heard. Photo: Facebook.

Jonathan Man Tak-ho, a deputy director of public prosecutions, argued an unlawful act did not necessarily entail an element of violence, as the national security legislation was designed to suppress any scheme that put the country’s safety at risk.

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