The last group of 45 Hong Kong activists made final pleas in court, facing serious charges under a national security law. Sentences will be decided later.
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In Hong Kong, a group of 45 activists went to court on Tuesday. They were there to ask for lighter punishments in a big trial. They were accused of working together to try to "subvert state power."
This means the government thinks they tried to cause trouble for the country. If they are found guilty, they could go to jail for life. This is because of a new national security law that China put in place in 2020. This law was made after many people in Hong Kong protested for democracy in 2019. These protests sometimes became violent.
The judge in the case, Andrew Chan, said that the 45 activists will find out their sentences at a later date, but he did not say when.
These 45 activists are part of a bigger group of 47 people who were arrested in 2021. They were charged because they took part in an unofficial vote to pick pro-democracy candidates for an election in 2020.
The government believes these activists wanted to force the government to meet the demands of the 2019 protests, like getting real universal suffrage. Universal suffrage means that all adults can vote. The activists planned to block the government’s budget if their candidates won a majority of the seats in the election.
Of the 47 activists, 31 admitted they were guilty. Sixteen others had a long trial that lasted 118 days last year. Two of them were found not guilty in May.
The 45 activists who were found guilty started attending hearings in June. These hearings were split into six groups and took place over three months. The activists hoped that these hearings would help reduce their sentences.
On Monday, the last group of eight activists had their hearings. One of them was Gwyneth Ho, a journalist who became an activist. She has been one of the loudest voices during the trial.
But on Monday, through her lawyer, Ho told the court she had nothing to say to ask for a lighter sentence. This decision might mean she could get a longer sentence.
Anthony Wong, a friend of Ho’s, was at the court to show his support. Wong is a singer and an advocate for LGBTQ rights.
He wore a black t-shirt from the University of Amsterdam that Ho gave him to show he stands by her and the other activists. Wong said he admired Ho for standing strong and hoped she would continue to do so.
Another activist, Owen Chow, wrote a letter to the court. In his letter, he said that even though he is in jail now for fighting for democracy, he still believes that one day, Hong Kong will have a government that is chosen by the people and works for them.
Reuters Report