The second week of a landmark national security trial relating to 47 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures saw a former legislator testifying against his co-defendants. Meanwhile, three handpicked judges heard that democrats were divided over candidate selection methods in the unofficial primary polls.
The high-profile trial began on February 6, almost two years after the democrats were first charged in March 2021 with one count of “conspiracy to commit subversion” under the Beijing-imposed national security law. They face up to life imprisonment if convicted.
The case centres around an unofficial primary election held in July 2020, which aimed to help the opposition camp win majority control in the Legislative Council. The democrats are accused of planning to use legislative powers to indiscriminately veto bills, whilst forcing the chief executive’s resignation and a government shutdown.
Some activists have been jailed for more than 23 months awaiting the case to move to trial, with only 13 of the 47 defendants currently on bail.
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