4 Apr 2023法庭線#6253
47人案｜中聯辦指非法後戴耀廷指「不說癱瘓政府」 趙家賢指戴「好清楚踩咗界」
The trial of 47 democrats charged with conspiracy to subvert state power entered its 38th day on Tuesday (4 June). Andrew Chiu testified that at a primary election press conference on the night of 13 July 2020, Benny Tai insisted that the primary election was not unlawful in response to the Liaison Office’s statement that it was illegal. Chiu said Tai later told him that his legal view was from a common-law perspective, adding that Tai said: “But from the mainland-law perspective, I don’t know.”
The prosecution showed a WhatsApp message sent by Tai the following day, which referred to “not mentioning vetoing every motion, nor saying that the government would be paralysed”. Chiu testified that “Tai clearly knew at that moment that he had crossed the line”. In response to questions from the judge, Chiu said he believed Tai’s approach was to “unify everyone’s wording”. He also agreed that Tai did not want the candidates to breach the National Security Law, because paralysing the government constituted subversion.
The prosecution also showed messages from an organisers’ WhatsApp group, including Chiu’s response to “Mok Lok Mou Fui”: “Tuen Mun Ho Sum Cheung, these few people are clearly determined to push it all the way...” Chiu confirmed in court that “these few people” referred to the three initiators of “Mok Lok Mou Fui”: Ho Sum Cheung, Zou Ka-shing and Leung Wong-wai. The trial will continue on Thursday (6 June).
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，周二（4 日）展開第 38 天審訊。趙家賢供稱，戴耀廷於 2020 年 7 月 13 日晚初選記者會，回應中聯辦指初選非法時，堅持初選不違法，惟其後向趙稱其法律觀點是普通法角度，又指戴稱「但從大陸法嘅角度，我唔識呀。」
控方展示戴翌日所發 WhatsApp 訊息，提及「不提否決每一個議案，也不說癱瘓政府」。趙供稱，「其實戴耀廷嗰刻就好清楚自己係踩咗界」。趙又在法官提問下稱，認為戴的做法是「統一大家口徑」；另同意戴不想參選人違反《國安法》，因為癱瘓政府屬於顛覆。
另控方庭上展示組織者 WhatsApp 群組訊息，其中趙家賢回應〈墨落無悔〉：「屯門張可森依幾條友就擺明係要隊到行（緪）啦...」趙庭上確認，「幾條友」是指〈墨〉3 名發起人張可森、鄒家成、梁晃維。案件周四（6 日）續審。
4 Apr 2023法庭線#6255
《立場》被指煽動案｜官指網媒可「一星期7日話《國安法》唔啱」 鍾稱政府有眾多渠道反駁
The trial of Stand News, in which it is charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, entered its 52nd day at the District Court on Tuesday (4th). After the defence completed its re-examination, Judge Kwok Wai-kin said there were matters he needed to clarify with Chung Pui-kuen. He asked what channels the government had for disseminating information, saying, “Is it only RTHK? ... How many [newspapers] are under official control?” He questioned whether online media could operate 24 hours a day while the government could not, asking, “If online media can say the National Security Law is wrong seven days a week, does the government have no way to compete?” Chung said he could not think of any reason why the government could not operate around the clock. He also said the authorities had “more than 100 departments, the Information Services Department and RTHK”, and believed they had numerous channels for disseminating information and could immediately rebut false material.
The judge also referred to “half-truth” information, giving as an example: “I slap you, you slap me, and because I am the victim, I say nothing about slapping you and only say that you slapped me.” He asked whether Chung would publish such information. Chung said that if he knew the specific circumstances, he would explain them clearly in the report.
Chung Pui-kuen gave evidence for 36 days, of which 26 days involved questioning by the prosecution. The defence said the other defendant, former acting editor-in-chief of Stand News Lam Siu-tong, would neither give evidence nor call witnesses. The case was adjourned until 19 June for closing submissions. Both men were granted continued bail, and the judge separately lifted the requirement for them to report to police.
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周二（ 4 日）於區域法院踏入第 52 日審訊。法官郭偉健在辯方完成覆問後，稱有問題須向鍾沛權了解。其中問及政府有何渠道發布訊息，「係咪得港台？...幾多份（報章）係官方控制到？」質疑網媒可 24 小時運作，政府則不能，「網媒一星期 7 日話《國安法》唔啱，政府係冇得比？」鍾稱，想不到政府有何原因無法 24 小時操作，又指當局有「百幾個部門，有政府新聞處、有港台」，相信有眾多渠道傳遞資訊，可即時反駁不實材料。
另外，法官提及「 half-truth （半真半假）」資訊，舉例稱「我打你一巴，你打我一巴，因為我係受害人，我完全唔講我打你，只講你打我一巴」，問鍾會否刊出有關資訊。鍾指，若他得知具體情況，會在報道交代清楚。
鍾沛權完成 36 日作供，其中控方盤問佔 26 日。辯方指另一被告、前《立場》署任總編輯林紹桐不會作供及傳召證人，案件押後至 6 月 19 日結案陳詞，期間 2 人續准保釋，法官另撤銷 2 人到警署報到的要求。
4 Apr 2023法庭線#6256
《立場》被指煽動案｜控方稱區家麟指「未審先坐監」沒事實基礎 辯方指以鍾為例「真係未審先坐一年」
The trial of Stand News, which is charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, entered its 52nd day at the District Court on Tuesday (4th). During the defence’s re-examination of veteran media figure Au Ka-lun over four blog posts, the prosecution said the articles had no factual basis, including a reference to being “jailed before trial”. Audrey Eu said: “Taking you [Chung Pui-kuen] as an example, you really were jailed for a year before trial.” Regarding Au’s claim that saying “end one-party rule” could result in a sedition charge, Eu cited Tin Fei-lung, a council member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, as saying that the slogan involved a breach of the National Security Law.
In a two-year-anniversary interview about the clashes at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a police complaint said that the statement “riot police stormed the campus” was not entirely accurate, while the statement that a police officer said “burn it all” was fake news. The defence played Cable News footage from the day in court. Judge Kwok Wai-kin confirmed that the officer had said the words, while leaving for the prosecution and defence submissions the question of whether he was saying that he had burned it or was describing the preceding situation, in which a mat had caught fire.
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周二（4 日）於區域法院踏入第 52 日審訊。辯方圍繞資深傳媒人區家麟 4 篇博客文章覆問，針對控方指文章沒事實基礎，如提到「未審先坐監」，余若薇稱「以你（鍾沛權）作為例子，真係未審先坐一年」。至於區家麟稱「結束一黨專政」會被控煽動，余引述全國港澳研究會理事田飛龍曾指，口號涉違《國安法》。
另外，警方投訴中大衝突兩年專訪當中，指「防暴警攻入校園」不盡不實；指警察說「燒晒佢啦」則屬假新聞。辯方庭上播放《有線》當日新聞片段，法官郭偉健確認警員說出該句，至於「佢講緊係佢燒、定形容緊前面情況（軟墊著火）」，留待控辯雙方陳詞。
3 Apr 2023法庭線#6249
《立場》被指煽動案｜控方指羅冠聰信任《立場》才受訪 辯方指《明報》、《有線》更早訪問
The trial of Stand News, which is charged with “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”, entered its 51st day at the District Court on Monday (3rd). The prosecution earlier said that Nathan Law, a former Legislative Council member now in exile overseas, accepted an exclusive interview with Stand News because he trusted it. Citing reports by Ming Pao and Cable, the defence said the two outlets had interviewed Law earlier than Stand News, adding: “By the prosecution’s standard, Nathan Law trusted Ming Pao much more than he trusted Stand News.” Chung Pui-kuen said Law had been very cautious since going into exile and had considered the matter for a long time before deciding to accept an interview with Stand News.
In response to the prosecution’s questioning of the wording used in Kwan Ka-lun’s blog articles, including “wolf warrior” and “new cold war”, which it said had no factual basis, the defence cited reports that Wang Yi, then China’s foreign minister, had used the term “new cold war”. Articles in Ming Pao’s “Pen and Ink” column had also discussed “wolf-warrior diplomacy”. She continued: “Kwan Ka-lun could also be said to have been echoing Wang Yi by using ‘new cold war’,” stressing that the terms were not coined by Kwan Ka-lun and that many people at the time used them to describe the international situation. The trial will continue on Tuesday (4th).
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周一（3 日）於區域法院踏入第 51 日審訊。控方早前指，流亡海外的前立法會議員羅冠聰信任《立場》才接受專訪，辯方引用《明報》及《有線》報道指，兩者比《立場》更早訪問羅，若以控方標準來看，「羅冠聰信任《明報》程度，多過你《立場》好多啦」。鍾沛權稱，羅冠聰流亡後一直很謹慎，考慮了一段長時間，才決定接受《立場》訪問。
針對控方質疑區家麟博客文章的用字，如「戰狼」、「新冷戰」沒有事實基礎。辯方引述報道指，時任中國外交部長王毅曾用「新冷戰」一詞；《明報》「筆陣」文章亦曾談及「戰狼式外交」。她續指，「區家麟用（新冷戰）都可以話係執王毅口水尾喎」，強調上述用詞非區家麟自創，當時不少人會以此形容國際局勢。案件周二（4 日）續審。
31 Mar 2023法庭線#6239
《立場》被指煽動案｜鍾沛權質疑警「大包圍」找證據檢控 非發現文章有即時風險而搜證
The trial of Stand News, whose former executives are charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications, entered its 50th day at the District Court on Friday (31st). Under re-examination by the defence, Chung Pui-kuen denied that interviews with Ho Kwai-lam, Zou Ka-cheng and others posed any actual risk to national security. He also said that before police downloaded Stand News articles in June 2021, they had never said the articles’ content was untrue. Chung questioned whether, after the National Security Law took effect and Apple Daily ceased operations, the police had downloaded the articles “because we were Stand News, regardless of whether there was any reason or not”, eventually selecting more than 500 articles and trying to find evidence in them to prosecute them.
The defence also submitted a Facebook post by Zou Ka-cheng referring to “Greater China jiao”. Judge Kwok Wai-kin asked: “Is ‘jiao’ necessarily negative? Wouldn’t it be used as praise?” Chung said some people initially used the term self-deprecatingly, while others did not mind telling people, “I’m a Greater China jiao, a leftist jiao.” The defence argued that the political spectrum was broad and was not divided simply into “yellow” and “blue”, as the prosecution had described it. Chung said that among young politicians, the way different factions applied certain labels “can only be understood in context, taking what comes before and after into account”. The trial will continue next Monday (3 April).
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周五（31 日）於區域法院踏入第 50 日審訊。鍾沛權在辯方覆問下，否認何桂藍、鄒家成等專訪有危害國家的實際風險，又指警方在 2021 年 6 月下載《立場》文章前，未曾提及文章內容不實，質疑警方在《國安法》生效、《蘋果》停運後，「因為我哋係《立場新聞》，有理冇理下載咗⋯最後揀咗 500 幾篇，喺裡面嘗試搵啲證據去檢控我哋」。
辯方又呈上鄒家成 FB 帖文，當中提到「大中華膠」，法官郭偉健聞言稱：「『膠』係咪一定負面？唔會褒獎？」鍾稱初時有人以此自嘲，亦有人不介意告訴他人「我係大中華膠、左膠」。辯方指，政治光譜廣闊，並非如控方所形容只有「黃藍」二分；鍾認為，在年輕政治人物中，不同派系對某些標籤的應用，「我只可以講係睇脈絡、前文後理」。案件下周一（4 月 3 日）續審。
31 Mar 2023法庭線#6240
47人案｜趙家賢稱首次讀戴耀廷文章感「火滾」 斥戴如「民主派全港唯一領導人」
The 47 democrats charged with “conspiracy to subvert state power” began the 36th day of their trial on Friday (31st). The prosecution presented an article written by Benny Tai and published in April 2020, titled “Hong Kong’s All-Out Showdown”, which stated that “the democracy camp’s strategy was to use ‘all-out destruction’ to force the Chinese Communist Party and the SAR government to make concessions on the five demands raised over the ‘anti-extradition bill movement’.”
Giving evidence, Chiu Ka-yin said he was reading the article for the first time in court, “but I have some additions”. He described the article as “incendiary” and “prophetic”, and said Tai published it while discussions on veto power were taking place at the primary coordination meetings and before a consensus had been reached. “When I saw those words [in the article], I was really furious,” he said, criticising Tai for acting “as if he were the Hong Kong democracy camp’s only leader”.
Chiu said the primary election’s original intention was not to use the term “all-out destruction” to force the Chinese Communist Party and the SAR government to make concessions. He also said that if he and the staff of “Power for Democracy” had carefully read through Tai’s many articles and statements, “then I firmly believe that neither I nor Power for Democracy would have agreed to undertake the primary election.”
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，周五（31 日）展開第 36 天審訊，控方展示 2020 年 4 月發布、戴耀廷所撰〈香港攬炒大對決〉一文，指提及「民主派的策略是以『攬炒』去迫使中共及特區政府就『反送中』所提出的五大訴求作讓步」。
趙家賢作供時指庭上首次閱讀該文，「但係我有一啲補充」，形容文章「煽動性、預言家」，又指戴在初選協調會議討論否決權、未達共識期間發表該文，「我睇到呢啲（文中）字眼，我係好火滾嘅」，斥戴「好似係民主派全港唯一領導人」。
趙說，初選的初心並非用「攬炒」字眼迫使中共、特區政府作出讓步，又稱若自己與「民動」職員「有仔細睇返清楚戴耀廷咁多嘅文章同埋發言，咁我好深信，我同民主動力都不會同意承辦初選。」
30 Mar 2023法庭線#6235
《立場》被指煽動案｜辯方引梁振英、屈穎妍等評論文章 質疑控方「雙重標準」
The trial of Stand News, charged with “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”, entered its 49th day at the District Court on Thursday (30th). The prosecution had earlier said that after the National Security Law came into effect, Hong Kong had “entered an era of terrorism”, and questioned whether Stand News had published articles that were “adding fuel to the fire” amid an extremely unsettled society. The defence cited comments by several officials, including then Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu and then Director of the Liaison Office Luo Huining, as well as commentaries in Ta Kung Pao, saying that the official view was that Hong Kong had “moved from chaos to governance”. Chung Pui-kuen added that he did not believe there was the soil or evidence of the emergence of terrorism referred to by the prosecution.
In response to the prosecution’s claim that Stand News blog articles had no factual basis and “wrote opinions as facts”, the defence questioned the prosecution’s “double standards”. It submitted 10 articles written by former Chief Executive CY Leung, columnist Qu Ying-yen and others that criticised the rule of law and governance, saying that under the prosecution’s argument, they would “violate many commandments”. Chung said commentaries had diverse styles; if they had to comply with the prosecution’s rules to avoid being accused of sedition, “then there wouldn’t be many commentaries in Hong Kong suitable for publication”. He also said that commentary approaching a struggle-session style had always existed and was a feature of Hong Kong under freedom of expression. The trial continues on Friday (31st).
《立場新聞》被控「串謀發布煽動刊物」案，周四（30 日）於區域法院踏入第 49 日審訊。就控方早前提到《國安法》生效後，本港「進入恐怖主義年代」，質疑《立場》在社會極不穩下，發布「火上加油」的文章。辯方引用時任保安局局長李家超、時任中聯辦主任駱惠寧等多名官員及《大公報》評論，稱官方認為香港「由亂入治」，鍾沛權亦補充，不認為有控方提及恐怖主義萌芽的土壤及跡象。
針對控方指《立場》博客文章無事實基礎，「將意見當事實寫」，辯方質疑控方「雙重標準」，呈上前特首梁振英、專欄作家屈穎妍等人所撰的 10 篇批評法治及施政文章，指以控方說法「違反好多戒條喎」。鍾指評論文章風格多元，若要符合控方的規條才不會被指煽動，「咁香港冇幾多評論文章係適合發表。」他又認為，接近批鬥式風格的評論一向存在，是香港言論自由下的特色。案件周五（31 日）續審。
30 Mar 2023法庭線#6236
47人案｜趙家賢：戴耀廷曾允民動全權承辦初選但有變異 蕭若元曾贊助選民登記活動
The trial of 47 democrats charged with “conspiracy to subvert state power” entered its 35th day on Thursday (30th), with Andrew Chiu continuing to give evidence. He said Democracy Power was not invited by Benny Tai and Au Nok-hin to undertake the primary election until early May 2020. He also said he had asked Tai to promise that Power for Democracy would handle the primary election entirely, and that Tai had casually replied, “There’s no problem,” but that things later changed. He added: “I know the prosecution will lead me to say this later.”
Chiu also testified that veteran media figure Stephen Shiu had sponsored voter registration activities, hoping the democrats could secure three functional constituency seats, including those for the wholesale and retail sectors, which were occupied by the pro-establishment camp. He also mentioned former Yau Tsim Mong district councillor Owan Li, who at a coordination meeting “was comparatively more proactive in saying that some of the legislature’s powers should be used to the fullest.”
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，周四（30 日）展開第 35 天審訊，趙家賢繼續作供，指「民主動力」至 2020 年 5 月初，才獲戴耀廷、區諾軒邀請承辦初選，又指自己曾要求戴承諾由「民動」全權處理初選，而戴當時「口輕輕答係無問題」，惟事後有變異，然後稱「我知道主控之後會帶領我去講出」。
趙作供時又分別提及，資深傳媒人蕭若元曾贊助選民登記活動，冀令民主派可取得由建制派佔據的批發及零售界等 3 個功能組別議席；以及前油尖旺區議員李傲然，曾在協調會議上「係有比較上進取去講覺得要用盡議會嘅一啲權力」。
30 Mar 2023法庭線#6238
家庭主婦被指煽動 據悉涉轉發黑底區旗圖案、稱《願榮光》為國歌等 申保釋被拒
A 48-year-old housewife was accused of reposting or posting seditious messages on Facebook and Twitter, including the phrases “Let black cops use corpses as mattresses,” “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times,” and “Hong Kong independence.” She was charged with doing acts with a seditious intention. The case came before the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts for the first time on Thursday (30th). The defendant was not required to enter a plea for the time being, and her application for bail was denied. In court, she was seen wearing a ponytail and a black sports jacket, and appeared alert. As she left the court, she at one point looked towards the public gallery and smiled.
48 歲家庭主婦涉在 Facebook 及 Twitter 轉載或發布煽動訊息，包括寫上「要黑警墊屍底」、「光時」、「香港獨立」等字句，被控「作出具煽動意圖的作為」罪，案件周四（30日）在西九龍裁判法院首度提堂。被告暫毋須答辯。庭上所見，被告束馬尾、穿黑色運動外套，面容精神，離庭時亦一度望向旁聽席微笑。
29 Mar 2023法庭線#6232
47人案｜趙家賢作供：戴耀廷2019年前推「風雲計劃」、「一步步營造」憲制抗爭
The trial of 47 pro-democracy figures charged with conspiracy to subvert state power entered its 34th day on Wednesday (29th). Chiu Ka-yin, the prosecution’s second witness, began giving evidence and said that, after Occupy Central, Benny Tai took on a “leadership” role. In 2018, Tai proposed “Project Storm” and “led many localist and protest-camp figures to stand for election” in order to win a majority in the District Councils, influence district funding, or even secure District Council members as members of the Election Committee for the Chief Executive election. Tai had “begun to build up the concept of constitutional confrontation”. In response to questions from the judge, Chiu reiterated that Tai had built it “step by step”.
Chiu also said that political novices from “Project Storm” and the localist protest camp were elected in 2019 amid public anger over the extradition bill, but that they mainly engaged in “slogan-based political statements” and disregarded legislative traditions. He cited as an example the fact that some people did not say “Thank you, President” when speaking. He also said they completely opposed funding for traditional community activities involving pro-establishment figures. However, because they outnumbered the traditional pan-democratic parties, the latter could only “go along with the situation”.
47 名民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，周三（29 日）展開第 34 天審訊，第二名控方證人趙家賢開始作供，指稱戴耀廷於佔中後，成為「帶領者」角色，2018 年提出「風雲計劃」，「引領咗好多本土呀抗爭派呢係出選」，以取區議會過半，影響地區撥款甚或取得特首選舉的區議會選委，「著手營造憲制抗爭概念」。法官追問下，趙再指戴是「一步步去營造」。
趙又稱，「風雲計劃」出身及本土抗爭派的政治素人，在 2019 年反修例民怨下當選，但「口號式政治表態居多」，又漠視議會傳統，舉例指某些人發言未有「多謝主席」，而對有建制派的社區傳統活動，都會完全反對撥款，惟因他們人數多於傳統民主派政黨，後者只可「順住個形勢而行」。
Translations are supplied by the source workbook. Consult the original reporting for context.
