10 Mar 2023獨媒#6145
National Security Department Arrests 23-Year-Old Woman over Online Posts Allegedly Inciting Hong Kong Independence
警方國安處前日（8日）拘捕一名23歲女子，涉嫌干犯《港區國安法》第20及21條「煽動分裂國家」罪。警方調查顯示，她涉嫌在網上發布煽動香港獨立訊息。
The Police National Security Department arrested a 23-year-old woman the day before yesterday (the 8th), suspected of committing the offence of “inciting secession” under Articles 20 and 21 of the National Security Law. Police investigations indicated that she allegedly posted messages online inciting Hong Kong independence.
10 Mar 2023法庭線#6146
Stand News sedition case | Prosecution cites 9/11, says overseas speech and conduct should be regulated; Chung says human life is the most important principle
前《立場新聞》總編輯鍾沛權、前署任總編輯林紹桐，及《立場》所屬公司被控「串謀發布煽動刊物罪」案，周五（10 日）於區域法院踏入第 39 日審訊。
控方續就資深傳媒人區家麟的博客文章盤問，以「9.11 事件」為例，指若有恐怖分子劫機，在境外發訊息聲稱要撞向世貿大樓，詢問是否應規管境外言行。鍾沛權表示，人命為最重要原則，但只要不涉提倡暴力及非法手段，在言論自由下應容許討論分離主義的主張。
另外，控方就涉案陳沛敏的文章盤問時，呈遞另一篇區家麟的文章。辯方質疑盤問範圍廣闊，不止於涉案 17 篇文章，形容情況沒完沒了，遂向法庭索取指引。法官郭偉健詢問：「我畀指引會唔會限制言論自由？」辯方指此與言論自由無關，郭偉健則指，本案備受關注，認為盤問內容並非完全與本案無關，「唔敢畀一個指示出嚟，我點樣劃嗰條線？」。案件下周二（14 日）續審。
The trial of former Stand News editor-in-chief Chung Pui-kuen, former acting editor-in-chief Lam Siu-tong and the company behind Stand News, who are charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, entered its 39th day at the District Court on Friday (10th).
The prosecution continued to cross-examine veteran media figure Au Ka-lun about a blog article, using the 9/11 attacks as an example. It asked whether overseas speech and conduct should be regulated if terrorists hijacked a plane and sent a message from abroad saying they intended to crash it into the World Trade Center. Chung Pui-kuen said human life was the most important principle, but that views advocating separatism should be allowed to be discussed under freedom of expression, provided they did not involve advocating violence or illegal means.
During cross-examination concerning an article by Chan Pui-man that is part of the case, the prosecution submitted another article by Au Ka-lun. The defence challenged the broad scope of the questioning, saying it was not limited to the 17 articles involved in the case and describing the situation as endless, and sought guidance from the court. Judge Kwok Wai-kin asked: “If I give guidance, will it restrict freedom of expression?” The defence said this had nothing to do with freedom of expression. Kwok said the case had attracted considerable attention and that the questioning was not entirely unrelated to the case, adding: “I don’t dare give an instruction; how am I supposed to draw that line?” The trial will continue next Tuesday (14th).
9 Mar 2023法庭線#6136
Stand News sedition case | Prosecution says Facebook once blocked Au Ka-lam’s website, showing articles were problematic; Chung says inference is dangerous
控方續就資深傳媒人區家麟的博客文章盤問，指他提及劉曉波「被囚禁至死」，會令人以為劉被判終身監禁、「坐到死為止」。鍾表示，不少港人得知劉曉波的事跡，正常人都會知道他是在囚禁期間病逝。鍾又指，控方可認為區的判斷有錯，「甚至佢一路堅持嘅普世價值觀，喺新香港環境下，要讓路畀國家安全」，但不能詆毀其意圖屬煽動。
控方又引述《立場》報道指，區家麟的博客網站曾遭 FB 封鎖，質疑因涉及辱罵性（abusive）文章。鍾沛權指，此為舉報機制的舉報原因之一，又認為若有人透過機制「有組織」投訴專頁，都會導致帳戶被封。他又質疑控方推論危險、薄弱，「你推論係 FB 認為佢有問題，咁而家解禁，即係 FB 認為佢冇問題，所以畀佢發表？」。案件周五（10 日）續審。
The prosecution continued questioning veteran media figure Au Ka-lam about his blog articles, saying that his reference to Liu Xiaobo being “imprisoned until death” could lead people to believe Liu had been sentenced to life imprisonment and would remain in prison until he died. Chung Pui-kuen said that many Hong Kong people had learned about Liu Xiaobo’s case and that any reasonable person would know he died of illness while imprisoned. Chung said the prosecution could consider Au’s judgment to be wrong, and could even argue that “the universal values he has always upheld must give way to national security in the new Hong Kong”, but it could not vilify his intentions as seditious.
The prosecution also cited a Stand News report saying that Au Ka-lam’s blog website had previously been blocked by Facebook, questioning whether this was because it contained abusive articles. Chung Pui-kuen said this was one of the reasons for reporting content through the reporting mechanism, and said that if people used the mechanism to make “organised” complaints against a page, it could result in the account being blocked. He also questioned the prosecution’s inference as dangerous and weak: “Your inference is that Facebook considered it problematic; so now that it has been unblocked, does that mean Facebook considers it unproblematic and has therefore allowed it to publish?” The case will continue on Friday (10th).
9 Mar 2023法庭線#6137
Portuguese National Accused of Being Hong Kong Independence Party Member Recharged with Conspiring to Incite Secession
一名被指為「香港獨立黨」骨幹成員的 40 歲葡籍音樂男教師，涉在網上發文籲外國出兵、眾籌軍費，他原被控一項「串謀作出一項或多項具煽動意圖的作為」罪。案件周四（9 日）在西九龍裁判法院呈交轉介文件，被告被改控違反《國安法》的「串謀煽動他人實施分裂國家罪」。
控方今呈上修訂控罪，辯方不反對，獲《國安法》指定法官、主任裁判官羅德泉批准。裁判官把案件押後至 3 月 28 日於區域法院再訊。被告沒有保釋申請，期間繼續還押。
A 40-year-old Portuguese music teacher, alleged to be a core member of the Hong Kong Independence Party, was accused of posting online calls for foreign countries to send troops and for military crowdfunding. He was originally charged with “conspiracy to commit one or more acts with seditious intention”. Transfer documents were filed in the case at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday (the 9th), and he was recharged with the National Security Law offence of “conspiracy to incite others to commit secession”.
The prosecution submitted the amended charge today. The defence did not object, and it was approved by designated National Security Law judge and Chief Magistrate Lo Tak-chuen. The magistrate adjourned the case to March 28 for a further hearing at the District Court. The defendant did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody in the meantime.
9 Mar 2023獨媒#6139
Lee Cheuk-yan’s Wife Elizabeth Yin Ngor Tang Arrested by National Security Department Officers Outside Stanley Prison
警方國安處人員今午在赤柱監獄外拘捕一名女子，該名女子是前職工盟秘書長李卓人妻子鄧燕娥。《獨媒》已向警方查詢詳情。消息指鄧燕娥涉嫌觸犯《港區國安法》「勾結境外勢力危害國家安全」罪。
National Security Department officers arrested a woman outside Stanley Prison this afternoon. The woman is Elizabeth Yin Ngor Tang, the wife of former Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions secretary-general Lee Cheuk-yan. InMedia has contacted the police for details. Sources said Elizabeth Yin Ngor Tang was suspected of the offence of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” under the Hong Kong National Security Law.
8 Mar 2023法庭線#6135
47-Defendant Case | Au Nok-hin: Benny Tai’s “Ten Steps to Genuine Mutual Destruction” Article “Stirred National Sentiment”, Bringing a “Qualitative Change” to the Primary Election
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，周三下午（8 日）展開第 21 天審訊。庭上早前披露，區諾軒曾於書面口供，提及初選活動與戴耀廷的文章「應分開審視」。區在法官詢問下，稱是指戴〈真攬炒十步 這是香港宿命〉一文。
區又供稱，辦初選的「初心」是不應該綑綁否決預算案的立場，但戴其後陸續發布數篇有關「攬炒」的文章，「我開始覺得佢嘅睇法，令到初選有質性上面嘅變化，亦係點解喺佢發表咗攬炒十步曲嘅文章後，我話佢篇文章嘅想法太瘋狂。」
The 21st day of the trial of 47 pro-democracy figures charged with conspiracy to subvert state power began on Wednesday afternoon (8th). It was previously disclosed in court that Au Nok-hin had said in a written statement that the primary election campaign and Benny Tai’s articles should be “considered separately”. In response to questions from the judge, Au said he was referring to Tai’s article “Ten Steps to Genuine Mutual Destruction: This Is Hong Kong’s Fate”.
Au also testified that the “original intention” of organising the primary election was that participants should not be bound by a position to veto the budget. However, Tai subsequently published several articles about “mutual destruction”. “I began to feel that his views had brought about a qualitative change in the primary election. That is also why, after he published the article on the ten steps to mutual destruction, I said the ideas in his article were too crazy.”
6 Mar 2023法庭線#6129
47-person case | Au Nok-hin: “Did my best to dissolve the primary” after Liaison Office statement, hoping withdrawals would provide basis for mitigation for co-defendants
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，周一（6 日）展開第 20 天審訊。區諾軒接受辯方盤問時指，透露退出初選的時序（見內文表）。他指，一直相信初選合法，直至政制及內地事務局局長曾國衞警告，他「法律上信任戴耀廷觀點，政治上則開始響起問號」。
及至中聯辦於投票日後發聲明指初選非法，區稱當日決定退出並「盡我全力解散整個初選」，曾徵詢政治助理吳璟儁，組織者一齊退出是否可行，而吳稱「只能夠盡量做」。區同日下午到港大向戴當面提出，而自己與趙家賢隨後兩日宣布退出。
區庭上主動補充，是在看過《國安法》「自動放棄犯罪」條文後，作出退出的政治決定，又指組織者相繼退出令初選工作無人接手，「我希望上述嘅情節能為整體嘅同案，搵到好嘅求情同埋從輕發落嘅法律基礎。」
The trial of 47 pro-democracy figures charged with “conspiracy to subvert state power” entered its 20th day on Monday (the 6th). Under questioning by the defence, Au Nok-hin set out the timing of his withdrawal from the primary election (see table in the main text). He said he had always believed the primary was legal until Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai issued a warning: “Legally, I trusted Benny Tai’s view; politically, question marks began to arise.”
After the Liaison Office issued a statement on the day after the vote saying the primary was illegal, Au said he decided that day to withdraw and “do everything in my power to dissolve the entire primary”. He consulted political assistant Kenneth King Tsun Ng on whether it was feasible for the organisers to withdraw together, and Wu said they “could only do our best”. Au went to the University of Hong Kong that afternoon to raise the matter with Benny Tai in person, and he and Andrew Chiu Ka-yin announced their withdrawals over the following two days.
Au volunteered that, after reading the National Security Law provision on “automatically abandoning a crime”, he made the political decision to withdraw. He also said the successive withdrawals of the organisers left no one to take over the primary’s work. “I hope the circumstances mentioned above can provide a good basis for mitigation and lenient treatment in law for all the co-defendants in the case.”
4 Mar 2023法庭線#6124
47-case | Au Nok-hin says under questioning that it is difficult to infer the Civic Party’s position on vetoing the budget; statement contents shown in court for first time
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，周五（3 日）展開第 19 天審訊。控方證人、已認罪的區諾軒，接受代表梁國雄、鄭達鴻的辯方資深大狀潘熙盤問。庭上首次展示區的口供，提及戴耀廷與民主派曾就如何落實「五大訴求」有「重點爭議」。
區在盤問下確認，公民黨陳淑莊及林瑞華，2020 年初曾表達對否決預算案有保留，而民主派政黨的同樣關注延伸至同年 5 月中，惟被問及公民黨整年是否持同一立場時，區稱「唔能夠咁武斷」，又稱只能說雙方會面上的情況，難推論該黨往後看法有否轉變。
區亦確認被捕後，在 2021 年 7 月至 8 月錄取共 7 份口供，期間獲警方安排查閱電話。此外，控方亦讀出黃碧雲、何桂藍及林卓廷承認事實，3 人版本在初選背景和抗爭派記者會等方面，與另 13 被告的版本有別（見內文表）。案件下周一（6 日）續。
The trial of 47 pro-democracy figures charged with “conspiracy to subvert state power” began its 19th day on Friday (the 3rd). Prosecution witness Au Nok-hin, who has pleaded guilty, was cross-examined by senior counsel Hectar Hei Pun, representing Leung Kwok-hung and Cheng Tat-hung. The contents of Au’s statement were shown in court for the first time. It referred to “key disputes” between Benny Tai and the pro-democracy camp over how to implement the “five demands”.
Au confirmed under cross-examination that Civic Party legislator Tanya Chan and Shui Wah Lam had expressed reservations in early 2020 about vetoing the budget, while the same concern among pro-democracy parties continued until mid-May that year. However, when asked whether the Civic Party had maintained the same position throughout the year, Au said it would be “too categorical” to say so. He added that he could only describe what occurred at meetings between the parties and that it was difficult to infer whether the party’s views later changed.
Au also confirmed that after his arrest, he gave seven statements between July and August 2021, during which police arranged for him to inspect his phones. The prosecution also read out the agreed facts admitted by Wong Pik-yin, Ho Kwai-lam and Lam Cheuk-ting. Their accounts differed from those of the other 13 defendants in areas including the background to the primary election and press conferences held by the protest camp (see table in the full article). The case will continue next Monday (the 6th).
2 Mar 2023獨媒#6118
47-person primary election case: Court reveals police obtained NSL production order requiring Apple Daily, Stand News and InMedia to hand over materials
47人涉組織及參與民主派初選，被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪，16人不認罪，今（2日）於西九龍裁判法院（暫代高院）續審。李予信早前打泰拳而受傷留院，缺席昨日審訊，他今日如期出庭應訊，庭上所見精神不俗，不過法官警告若果類似情況再度發生，他便不會繼續獲准保釋。本案共有4個版本的控辯雙方同意事實，控方讀出其中一份由13名被告所同意的事實，當中披露警方根據《國安法第四十三條實施細則》附表7第3條，於2020年12月24日獲高院簽發提交物料令，要求《獨立媒體》、《立場新聞》、《蘋果日報》向警方提供或交出與案相關物料。
Forty-seven people were charged with conspiracy to subvert state power over organising and participating in the pro-democracy primary election. Sixteen pleaded not guilty, as the trial continued today (the 2nd) at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, sitting as the High Court. Yue Shun Lee, who was earlier injured while practising Muay Thai and was hospitalised, was absent from yesterday’s hearing but appeared in court as scheduled today. He appeared to be in good spirits, although the judge warned that if a similar situation occurred again, he would no longer be allowed to remain on bail. There are four versions of agreed facts between the prosecution and defence. The prosecution read out one version agreed by 13 defendants, which disclosed that police obtained a production order from the High Court on 24 December 2020 under Article 3 of Schedule 7 to the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the National Security Law, requiring InMedia, Stand News and Apple Daily to provide or hand over case-related materials to police.
2 Mar 2023法庭線#6120
47-Democrat Case | Trial Adjourned Earlier Due to Yue Shun Lee’s Hospitalisation; Judge Concerned About Discharge Time as Prosecution Reads Agreed Facts Admitted by 13 Defendants
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，法庭因應辯方指李予信周三打泰拳受傷留院而押後審訊。案件周四（2 日）展開第 18 天審訊，辯方指李予信周三早上已出院，法官質疑浪費公帑；辯方大狀指當時並不知情，並指李向法庭致歉。
In the case involving 47 democrats charged with conspiracy to subvert state power, the court adjourned the trial after the defence said Yue Shun Lee had been injured while practising Muay Thai on Wednesday and was hospitalised. The 18th day of the trial began on Thursday (the 2nd). The defence said Yue Shun Lee had been discharged on Wednesday morning. The judge questioned whether public funds had been wasted; defence counsel said they had not known this at the time and said Lee apologised to the court.
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
