47-Person Case Sentencing | Chris Tang Says Appeal Is Being Considered; EU Says Democracy Has Been Undermined; Foreign Ministry Slams Western Countries’ Groundless Accusations
47人案判刑｜鄧炳強指研究會否上訴 歐盟稱打擊民主 外交部斥西方國家無端指責
Forty-five defendants convicted in a case in which members of the pro-democracy camp were charged with “conspiracy to subvert the state power” were sentenced on Tuesday (19th) at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, temporarily exercising the jurisdiction of the High Court. They received sentences ranging from four years and two months to 10 years. The longest sentence was imposed on the first defendant, Benny Tai, followed by Owen Chow, who helped launch the “No Regrets in Ink” campaign, and was sentenced to seven years and nine months. Secretary for Security Chris Tang told the media that afternoon that the sentences as a whole reflected the seriousness of the offences. He said the authorities would decide whether to appeal the sentences of individual defendants after studying the judgments. The United Kingdom, Australia and the European Union all issued statements on the sentences. The EU statement said the imprisonment of the defendants once again undermined freedom, democracy and pluralism in Hong Kong, and that the activities in which they participated should be considered legitimate in any political system that respects basic democratic principles. At a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian stressed that no one could engage in illegal activities under the banner of democracy. Without naming individual Western countries, he criticised them for ignoring the fact that their own countries had adopted relevant judicial procedures to safeguard national security, and for groundlessly accusing Hong Kong courts of implementing the National Security Law.
民主派被控「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪一案，45 名罪成被告於周二（19 日）在西九龍裁判法院（暫代高院）判刑。各人分別被判 4 年 2 個月至 10 年不等。當中判刑最重的是首被告戴耀廷，其次是有份發起《墨落無悔》的鄒家成，判囚 7 年 9 個月。 保安局局長鄧炳強於判刑同日下午見傳媒，指整體判刑已反映了罪行嚴重性，至於會否就個別被告的刑期提出上訴，則會在研究判詞後再決定。英、澳、歐盟均就判刑發聲明，當中歐盟聲明提到，各被告入獄再一次打擊香港的自由民主，以及多元發展，而被告所參與的活動，在任何尊重基本民主原則的政治體系中，都應被認為是合法。 中國外交部發言人林劍則在記者會上，強調任何人都不能打著民主的旗號從事違法活動，又不點名批評個別西方國家，無視本國通過有關司法程序，維護自身國家安全的事實，無端指責香港法院實施《國安法》。