The democratic “35+” primary election case has resulted in 47 individuals being charged with the crime of “conspiring to subvert state power” under the Hong Kong National Security Law. Out of the 47, 31 defendants have pleaded guilty, and 14 have been convicted after trial. The court has scheduled a hearing for June 25 to handle the pleas of the 5 alleged organizers, with reports indicating that the remaining defendants will be divided into 5 batches for pleas between July 2 and August 5.
The 5 alleged organizers, including Benny Tai, Joshua Wong, Jason Ng, and others, along with Wu Chi-wai who was found guilty after trial, are set to make their pleas starting on June 25, expected to take 3 days.
The second batch scheduled to plea on July 2 consists of 6 individuals who participated in the primary election in the Hong Kong Island constituency, including Tiffany Yuen, Lester Shum, Jeffrey Andrews, Tommy Cheung, Sunny Cheung, and Sam Cheung, with a estimated plea duration of 2 days.
In the third batch set to plea on July 5 are defendants such as Joshua Wong, Lester Shum, Samuel Chu, and others who participated in the primary election in Kowloon East, with an expected plea duration of 2 days.
Scheduled for pleas on July 10 in the fourth batch are individuals who took part in the primary election in Kowloon West, as well as those who ran for the “Super District Council” constituency and the healthcare services sector, with an estimated plea duration of 3 days.
The final batch of defendants are set to plea on August 5, including candidates from the New Territories East primary election, such as Tiffany Yuen, Alvin Yeung, Eddie Chu, and others, totaling 11 individuals with an expected plea duration of 4 days.
According to the Hong Kong National Security Law, the crime of “subverting state power” carries three levels of penalties. Those deemed “ringleaders or with serious offenses” face life imprisonment or a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years; those who “actively participated” face imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years; and those who are “otherwise participants” face a imprisonment term of not more than 3 years, detention, or control.
Reports suggest that the court has instructed both the prosecution and defense to treat the convicted defendants in this case as conspirators and require them to present, in written pleadings, arguments on whether they should be sentenced equally, provide reasons, and suggest mitigating circumstances for sentencing considerations.