"Hong Kong Alliance" (the Alliance) and its three leaders, Lee Cheuk-yan, Ho Chun-yan and Chow Hang-tung, have been charged with "incitement to subversion". They were sentenced at 10 a.m. on Friday (Sept. 11) at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, which is temporarily serving as the High Court.
The Alliance was fined HK$1.5 million, payable within three months. Lee was sentenced to seven years in prison, Ho to five years and two months, and Chow to seven years and three months.
Speaking to the media after the sentencing, Chief Superintendent Steve Li of the Hong Kong Police Force's National Security Department noted that since the investigation began, the police had been continuously subjected to malicious attacks by external forces. Since the court announced the defendants' conviction on Aug. 21, the situation had further intensified, with some even demanding the withdrawal of charges, the release of the defendants, and the intimidation and "sanctioning" of judges.
Li stressed that this trial, like all other ordinary criminal trials in Hong Kong, was conducted in a fair, just, open, and transparent manner. Prosecutors presented evidence to the highest criminal standard of proof, the defendants had ample time, space, and procedural opportunities to mount their defence, and the judge, after hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the defence, convicted the defendants beyond reasonable doubt.
Li said he very much hoped that external forces would respect the rule of law upheld by Hong Kong. He added that many of the external forces smearing or attacking Hong Kong themselves possess laws to protect their own national security, some of which are even more stringent. For them to harbour such malicious attitudes, he could think of no reasonable explanation other than ulterior motives or the adoption of double standards.
Li concluded by expressing his strong hope that external forces would respect the spirit of the rule of law upheld in Hong Kong and cease their unreasonable attacks. In light of the sentences handed down by the court today, those with restless designs should take heed and refrain from testing the police's determination to safeguard national security.
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