The Hong Kong 47 is a group of 47 pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the Hong Kong national security law.
On 6 January 2021, 53 activists, former legislators, social workers and academics were arrested by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force under the national security law over their organisation and participation in the primaries for the subsequently postponed Legislative Council election, including six organisers and 48 participants, of which two were arrested in jail, making it the largest crackdown under the national security law since its passage on 30June 2020. Authorities also raided 72 sites including the home of jailed activist Joshua Wong, the offices of news outlets Apple Daily, Stand News and Hong Kong Inmedia; and polling institute Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI), and froze more than $200,000 in funds related to the primaries. The arrests reduced the pro-democracy camp, including its moderate wing, considerably, and targeted several prominent figures.
On 28 February 2021, 47 opposition figures among those arrested in January were officially charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law. Their appearance in court on 1 March saw hundreds of protesters assembling outside the building.
Several defence lawyers expressed their objections in court to the slow prosecutions, which contrasted with speedily pressed charges. Analysts considered the slow trial, which extended to other national security cases, to be a deliberate strategy designed to stoke fear. The case was adjourned several times; at the adjournment on 4 March 2022, the next hearing date was set as 28 April, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at which date the defendants were told to appear again on 1 to 2 June; a higher court judge had called on the handling lower court a few days earlier to deliver a speedy trial. The defendants were subjected at times to solitary confinement.
The trial lasted from 6 February to 4 December 2023. Two were acquitted by the panel of judges in May 2024, while the remaining 14 were found guilty. Along with 31 defendants who had entered a plea deal, the sentences of the 45 ranged from 4 years and 2 months to 10 years in prison. Benny Tai, whom the court described as the "mastermind" for initiating the plan, was handed the longest jail term. , 22 of the sentenced have been released.
Background
On 11 and 12 July 2020, the pro-democracy camp, organised by legal scholar and activist Benny Tai, held a primary to select numbers of candidates for the September Legislative Council election to maximise the chance for the pro-democrats to achieve the "35+" majority in the Legislative Council to block the government's bills and pressured the government to implement the five key demands of the ongoing protests. Tai envisaged that the democrats would veto all bills in the legislature to paralyse the government, and would force the Chief Executive to dissolve the Legislative Council after the government budget was vetoed, as on the fourth and fifth stages of the "ten-step lam chau" timeline. The resignation of the Chief Executive would be forced by Article 52 of the Basic Law if the Legislative Council resulting from a by-election still did not approve the budget.
Before the primaries were held, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang warned that they might violate the new Beijing-imposed national security law, specifically its clauses prohibiting secession, subversion and collusion with foreign powers. Benny Tai refuted the claim by saying such advocacy work was in accordance with the principles of the Basic Law. He added that vetoing the budget would not constitute "seriously interfering in, disrupting, or undermining the performance of duties and functions" of the government under Article 22 of the new law because the chief executive has the power to dismiss the legislature and call a by-election.
Despite the national security law and legal threats, over 600,000 voters, including 590,000 electronic ballots and more than 20,000 paper ballots, turned out throughout the two-day vote, more than 13 per cent of the total number of registered voters and far exceeding the organisers' expected turnout of 170,000. Chief Executive Carrie Lam issued a strong warning to the candidates and organisers of the primaries, saying it was subversive for them to vow to seize control of the legislature and vote down key government proposals. "If this so-called primary election's purpose is to achieve the ultimate goal of delivering what they called '35+' [lawmakers], with the objective of objecting or resisting every policy initiative of the HKSAR government, it may fall into the category of subverting the state power – one of the four types of offences under the national security law," she said.
A spokesman for Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong condemned the opposition camp for ignoring the Hong Kong government's warning of possible legal breaches and pressing ahead with the primary. It named Benny Tai as a suspect in a possible breach of the national security law by coordinating with the opposition camp to seek control of the legislature, vote down the budget, paralyse the government and subvert the state power. It also accused Tai and the opposition of aiming to take over the city's governance by staging the Hong Kong version of a "colour revolution". The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) accused Tai of "illegally manipulating" Hong Kong's electoral system, challenging the new national security law and acting as a political agent for foreign forces.
Arrests
In the morning on 6 January 2021, the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force raided 72 places, including the home of jailed activist Joshua Wong, as well as co-organisers Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI) and law firm Ho Tse Wai and Partners. It further demanded three news outlets Apple Daily, Stand News and InMedia HK to hand over information, and froze HK$206,000 in funds related to the election. In the operations, the police arrested 55 men and women including activists, former legislators, social workers and academics who organised or contested in the primaries across the pro-democracy spectrum on suspicion of "subversion of state power" under the national security law.
They included organiser Benny Tai and jailed activist and primary candidate Joshua Wong, seven former legislators of the Democratic Party, the Hong Kong's largest opposition party including the party chairman Wu Chi-wai, veteran politicians and activists Leung Kwok-hung and Claudia Mo, and newcomers including Jeffrey Andrews, a social worker serving the city's ethnic minority community, and disability rights advocate Lee Chi-yung. American lawyer John Clancey, partner of Ho Tse Wai and Partners and treasurer of the Power for Democracy which co-ordinated the primaries, was also arrested. PORI executive director Robert Chung and his deputy Chung Kim-wah were also visited by police and asked to assist with the investigation.
On the afternoon after the arrests, Steve Li Kwai-wah, Senior Superintendent of the police national security unit, met with reporters. During the briefing, he showed a timetable showing that the proposal to use strategic voting to win a majority in the Legislative Council had first emerged in March 2020, with crowdfunding, public opinion research, publicity, and holding forums to follow until June. The primary elections were held on 11 and 12 July. Without referring to Benny Tai by name, he said that the proposer of the plan had been "very determined and resourceful". He stated that such aims as in the plan amounted to subversion.
According to Secretary for Security John Lee, the arrestees were accused of "subverting state power" for holding the primaries and were suspected of attempting to gain a majority in the Legislative Council with the goal of paralysing the government. Lee also said that the primary election was organized and planned as an evidence for the "vicious plan" to "sink Hong Kong into an abyss."
All arrestees are listed as the following. All were released on bail on 7 January, except Wu Chi-wai, who was alleged to have violated bail conditions related to a separate case of unauthorized assembly. On 28 February, 47 of those were arrested again, later charged.
List of arrestees The 47 defendants charged with conspiracy to commit subversion under the national security law are: