Hong Kong security law

In the “Hong Kong 47” trial, the Court convicts defendants accused of organising primaries in 2020 ahead of elections to the local legislature to win a majority that could vote against then Beijing-appointed Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s budget. Scores of people are in jail for this "crime". Meanwhile, Jimmy Lai’s trial is still underway, but the verdict is a foregone conclusion.

New arrest order was issued for jailed lawyer Chow Hang-tung and five other people who tried to use Facebook to keep alive the memory of the victims of the student massacre 35 years ago. This comes a few days before the 4 June anniversary. The people charged face up to seven years in prison for “resisting memory rewriting.”

An official with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office and former police officer will go on trial on 10 February 2025 along with a security officer in connection with an attempt to break into a home and for unlawful surveillance. A third man detained was found dead under mysterious circumstances. More than 200,000 people from the former British crown colony have fled to Britain in recent years. Diplomatic tensions are rising over the activities by Hong Kong’s trade office.

While the anniversary of the massacre of the students in Beijing will not take place on 4 June in Victoria Park, a group of individual Christians is calling on people to sign a prayer that will be published as an ad in the Christian Times. The text refers to the repression of that time, but also to the one currently underway in Hong Kong.

A survey by the Methodist Centre reveals the concern of people over 75, indirect victims of the exodus of young families caused by the security crackdown after the 2019 protests. Meanwhile, an appeal court accepts the authorities' request to ban "Glory to Hong Kong", the song that became the protest movement’s anthem.

Not even pro-Beijing trade unions are marching for workers' rights fearing “unrest”. All the attention is on mainland tourists, for whom the city (weather permitting) will launch a new cycle of fireworks displays at the port with an unprecedented budget.

In a place where 1,832 people are already in prison on political grounds, the new law implementing Article 23 only “cloak[s] injustice with a veil of institutional legitimacy,” wrote a few months ago Chow Hang-tung, jailed for remembering the dead in Tiananmen Square. The real answer is not to forget this China behind bars, in Hong Kong and in the People's Republic.

Some defendants are given seven years in prison over the storming of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. Chief Executive John Lee wants the latter to approve by 31 March the legislation to implement Article 23 of Hong Kong’s constitution. The Diocese of Hong Kong issues a statement saying that the secrecy of confession will be upheld under the new law. By allowing police to detain a suspect for up to 16 days without charge, the bill is violating the right to legal counsel, raising concerns about abuses of basic rights.

Hong Kong’s legislature works overtime during the weekend to further restrict freedoms in the former British colony. Security Secretary Chris Tang justifies denying detainees the right to legal counsel for 48 hours with the risk of collusion. Meanwhile, Beijing reports the arrest and trial of about 2.4 million people.

Hong Kong’s Legislative Council is set to fast track the approval of a national security bill tabled today that imposes unprecedented restrictions to all forms of freedom in the former British colony, including life in prison for “treason” and up to ten years for “sedition”. The law also goes after people who do not report government opponents, a provision that will serve as an additional tool of pressure on religious communities.

An image of Christ on the cross painted in Stanley Prison by the Catholic businessman on trial under the National Security Act is on display at the Catholic University of Washington. Meanwhile Agnes Chow from Canada recounts her imprisonment in Hong Kong in a video.

A team of international lawyers has filed a complaint with the UN in connection with the trial of the Apple Daily publisher. The prosecution wants Andy Li – a pro-democracy activist arrested trying to reach Taiwan on a boat – to testify against the former media mogul. Convicted in mainland China for illegal expatriation, Li has been held in a psychiatric hospital since he was returned to Hong Kong. He is expected to testify against Lai before going on trial himself under the National Security Law.