Hong Kong’s Department of Justice has announced it intends to appeal the acquittal of two pro-democracy figures, who were found not guilty of conspiring to commit conspiracy over their roles in an unofficial primary election in July 2020.
Lawrence Lau and Lee Yue-shun were acquitted by a panel of three High Court judges on Thursday morning – becoming the first two people tried under the Beijing-imposed security law to be cleared of their charges.
Director of Public Prosecutions Maggie Yang on Thursday afternoon said that she had received instruction from Secretary for Justice Paul Lam that the justice department would seek to appeal the acquittal of Lau and Lee.
Representing Lee, barrister Steven Kwan said the judges had ruled that his client’s testimony had a “ring of truth” and the prosecution may only challenge the acquittal by raising a question of law. The lawyer said the court should consider the chances of success of the appeal before subjecting Lee to a list of bail conditions pending appeal.
Kwan also said there should be an “end point” of the bail terms. Given the prosecution had 14 days from the verdict to file an appeal bid, Kwan asked if the bail terms should end after two weeks.
The judges eventually ruled that Lau and Lee’s bail terms would be extended pending appeal, but both would report to the police monthly instead of weekly.
Former district councillor Michael Pang, who had been on bail pending trial, applied for bail pending sentencing. His lawyer told the court that Pang worked for the Hong Kong Basic Law Foundation, and as a result would not engage in any activity endangering national security.
“He has been promoting national security and patriotism,” Pang’s lawyer said.
But the judges denied his application and he was remanded into custody alongside the other convicted democrats.
Proceedings ended a little after 3 pm on Thursday, with mitigation submissions set to begin on June 25.
A ‘lethal constitutional weapon’
The primary poll at the centre of the case, held just weeks after Beijing’s national security law came into effect, was designed to help the city’s pro-democracy camp determine which candidates would be best placed to help them win a controlling majority in an upcoming Legislative Council election.
Prosecutors alleged that the democrats saw a legislative majority as a “lethal constitutional weapon“ and intended to abuse the powers conferred to lawmakers by the city’s mini-constitution to indiscriminately veto bills, forcing the chief executive’s resignation and a government shutdown.
During the trial, the prosecution cited three main documents to argue their case against the democrats, including an online declaration known as “Resolute Resistance, Inked Without Regret,” which was signed by 33 defendants who ran in the primary election.
Signatories endorsed the five demands made by Hong Kong protesters in 2019, and said they intended to use the power conferred to lawmakers under the Basic Law to compel the chief executive to respond to those demands, including by vetoing the budget.
After Thursday morning’s verdict, the 14 found guilty now join 31 former lawmakers and activists who earlier pleaded guilty to that charge in awaiting sentencing. The maximum penalty is life in prison, while the minimum sentence – under a three-tier system laid out by the security legislation – is “fixed term imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term detention or restriction.”
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
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