The court sentenced Chow Ting and former Jones Day members Huang Zhi Feng and Lin Langyan for inciting, organizing, and participating in an unauthorized assembly for their involvement in last year’s “6.21” siege of police headquarters. They pleaded guilty to the charges earlier, and when the court heard the case on February 2, the judge said the case was more serious than other assembly cases and that prison was the only option, sentencing Huang Zhifeng to 13.5 months, Zhou Ting to 10 months, and Lin Langyan to 7 months in prison, with no probation. This is the harshest and most high-profile sentence handed down to an opposition activist in Hong Kong this year. Some supporters say the sentences are too harsh and question the political prosecutions.
On Wednesday morning, Chow went to the High Court in a prison van, where she was represented by senior attorneys Gary Locke and John Tam, who had applied for bail in the original trial. After hearing the arguments, Judge Kelly Chang refused the bail application and Zhou must continue to serve her sentence. Judge Kelly Chang found that the appeal had no reasonable or very high chance of success, and that the 10-month prison term was neither too short nor too long, and did not think it would be unfair to wait for the appeal to be heard.
Zhou Ting looked glum after being denied bail on Wednesday. She said through her lawyer that she was sorry and disappointed that she was denied bail, and said she was not in good health because she had not yet adjusted to life in prison, but she hoped the people of Hong Kong would continue to pay attention to the situation of prisoners.
A large number of media and members of the public attended Wednesday’s bail application, and the gallery was full, including Hong Kong Catholic Cardinal Emeritus Chan Yat-kwan and former Jones member Yuen Ka-wai. Some spectators wept after the verdict was announced.
On August 5, Zhou Ting, Huang Zhifeng, and Lin Langyan appeared in court on charges of “inciting unlawful assembly” and other charges. Before appearing in court, Zhou Ting said, “Please don’t forget that not only the three of us, but also many Hong Kong people and young people in Hong Kong are facing a much more severe situation than we are, so we will not give up and will continue to fight for democracy and freedom in Hong Kong. Under the strong fear of the National Security Law, we Hong Kong people must not surrender even more. We must continue to believe in the universal values of democracy and freedom.”
On August 5, Huang Zhifeng said, “Compared to the threat of the National Security Law, or the threat of being extradited to China, or the threat of being kidnapped by National Security agents, the price we are paying is nothing. We will continue to fight and overcome our fears and threats.”
Zhou Ting, along with Huang Zhifeng and Luo Guancong, founded the civic political group “Hong Kong People’s Will” in 2016, advocating street protests, civil society building, and international linkages as the main axes to promote democracy in Hong Kong and Hong Kong people’s sense of ownership. Fearing that they would be targeted for punishment under Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law, Hong Kong People’s Will disbanded on June 30, a few hours after Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law was implemented. Several other similar groups followed suit and announced their disbandment in order to avoid being targeted.
The chairman of the founding party, Law Kwun Chung, left Hong Kong before the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law took effect, and continued his pro-democracy activities overseas. He testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, accusing the Beijing authorities of using intimidation and high-handed tactics to turn Hong Kong, with its high degree of autonomy, into just another city in China, leaving behind the shell of “one country, two systems” and creating the illusion of Hong Kong’s autonomy.
In August of this year, the Hong Kong police made a major effort to arrest pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong for violating Hong Kong’s version of the National Security Law and other charges. The Hong Kong police’s arrests sparked international criticism.
Last month, eight more Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were arrested, including several legislators and former legislators, for allegedly violating the law during an act of defiance at the Legislative Council meeting in May.
The number of arrests of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong in connection with the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law and other regulations continues to rise and has come under international scrutiny and criticism. The U.S. has imposed a number of sanctions against Hong Kong and China in response to Beijing’s displeasure that the implementation of the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law undermines Hong Kong’s autonomy and democracy.
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