The widely watched “35-plus”, or “47-individuals primary election” case finally drew to an end on Tuesday, with 45 defendants receiving sentences ranging from four years and two months to 10 years in prison for subversion, and two being acquitted.
The trial outcome finds its significance not only in justice being served but in the fact that justice has trumped unprecedented external pressure, upholding Hong Kong’s internationally recognized rule of law, the pillar of the city’s stability and prosperity.
Rarely has there been a court case in the world that has drawn so much interest from Western governments, politicians and mainstream media outlets as the “35-plus” case did. Over four years — from the police crackdown of the “35-plus” subversive plot in 2020 to the conclusion of its court trial — a handful of Western governments and their sidekicks in the media have launched rounds of slanderous attacks on Hong Kong’s legal system, particularly the National Security Law for Hong Kong (NSL), under which the 47 individuals involved in the “35-plus” plot were prosecuted.
Those Western critics have deliberately overlooked the plain fact that the NSL was promulgated in June 2020 in response to the “black-clad riots”, which started in June 2019 and were threatening the governance system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. They are also oblivious to the fact that much more stringent national security-related laws have been implemented in most if not all Western countries.
Invariably, they launched their venomous attacks under the guise of “democracy”, “human rights” or “freedoms”, which is nothing more than a worn-out fig leaf for their interventionist maneuvers, and can hardly sell outside their circles, especially in an era when social media has successfully broken the mainstream media’s monopoly on information propagation.
Western apologists’ relentless attacks on the prosecution of the 47 individuals involved in the “35-plus” plot and the NSL should be deciphered in the context that the subversion plot played well with the ongoing geopolitical strategy to contain China by undermining the HKSAR, which is strategically significant to the country, and that many of those defendants have been doing their Western patrons’ bidding in Hong Kong against Beijing.
To the comfort of people around the world who genuinely care for Hong Kong, particularly the city’s residents, Hong Kong’s Judiciary refused to succumb to overwhelming external pressure, allowing justice to trump interventionism, and thus upholding the rule of law in Hong Kong
In reality, the criminal charges against the 47 individuals involved in the “35-plus” plot have nothing to do with “rights”, “freedom” or “democracy”. They were prosecuted for their roles in a subversive scheme, dubbed “primary election”, operated under the guise of “pursuing democracy”.
The meticulous plot, as elaborated by Benny Tai Yiu-ting, who masterminded the action for which he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on Tuesday, entailed usurping the Legislative Council via manipulating an upcoming election, indiscriminately vetoing government bills to paralyze the HKSAR government by leveraging their control of the legislature, compelling the HKSAR chief executive to resign, instigating massive discontent and social unrest, thus triggering a “bloody repression” by the central authorities, and thereafter lobbying foreign powers to impose political and economic sanctions on Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. Tai published his “35-plus” plot in the now-defunct Apple Daily on April 28, 2020, detailing his action plan, which he called “10 steps to mutual destruction”, for undermining the special administrative region government. In a nutshell, the plot sought to overthrow the HKSAR government, which is lawfully established under the principle of “one country, two systems” as prescribed by the Basic Law.
By any yardstick, subversion of State power is a serious offense in all jurisdictions and is dealt with accordingly. The NSL was promulgated and went into effect on June 30, 2020, and hence applied to the “primary election”, or the first step of the “35-plus” plot, which took place on July 11 and 12 in the same year. What’s more, the “primary election” went ahead despite earlier warnings from the HKSAR government that those involved might be subsequently charged with national security offenses. This, however, did not deter the plotters and participants from carrying out their plan; they defied the law as they were emboldened by a false sense of invulnerability, with the backing of their foreign patrons.
It is noteworthy that 31 defendants, or two-thirds of the 47 defendants, including Tai, had pleaded guilty long before they were sentenced. Yet, China-bashers and the defendants’ apologists in the West have failed to demonstrate a measure of respect for decency that can constrain them from continuing to vilify Hong Kong’s widely recognized judicial independence and professionalism.
To the comfort of people around the world who genuinely care for Hong Kong, particularly the city’s residents, Hong Kong’s Judiciary refused to succumb to overwhelming external pressure, allowing justice to trump interventionism, and thus upholding the rule of law in Hong Kong.
The author is a current affairs commentator.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.
