Starting from June 25, 2024, the court officially began hearing the pleas of the defendants in the "35+ Subversion of State Power" case. The five defendants, who are accused of being organizers, took the lead in presenting their pleas. Among them are Benny Tai, Au Nok-hin, Andrew Chiu, Ben Chung, who have pleaded guilty, and also Gordon Ng, who has been convicted.
The focus is on the statement of Senior Counsel Wong, who represents Benny Tai. Wong stated that Benny Tai had already withdrawn from the primary election shortly after the implementation of the National Security Law in July 2020. Even though Benny Tai had a leadership role, his actions were not illegal and cannot be retroactively judged. Wong argued that this case falls under the category of "conspiracy" rather than "national security offenses," and therefore, the sentencing should be based on the former rather than the latter. Wong proposed a starting point of a three-year imprisonment as a sentence, acknowledging that it is a bold suggestion. This proposal surprised the judge and those present in the court, leading the judge to request the defense to clarify whether Benny Tai, who had already pleaded guilty, "does not accept the charge of 'conspiracy.'" Wong denied this. The judge also interrupted Wong's statement and reminded the defense lawyers not to forget that Benny Tai is not a first-time offender, referring to his interviews during the "primary election" press conferences on July 6th and July 9th, where Benny Tai stated that he "not only didn't stop, but continued (the primary election)," and so on.
In this case, the primary defendant Benny Tai proposed the "35+" plan, with clear intentions to disrupt, destroy, or overthrow the existing political system established in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region based on the Basic Law and the principle of "One Country, Two Systems." Over the years, Benny Tai has been actively scheming to undermine Hong Kong. In early 2013, he initiated the illegal "Occupy Central" movement and advocated the so-called "civil disobedience," which severely disrupted Hong Kong's society, people's livelihoods, economy, and adversely affected numerous young students. In 2016, Benny Tai orchestrated the "Thunder Go Plan" and the "Storm Plan," attempting to interfere with fair elections in the Legislative Council. In July 2020, Benny Tai published an article in Apple Daily titled "Ten Steps to Realize Hong Kong's Destiny of Self-Destruction," clearly outlining his plan to subvert the government.
According to Article 22 of the National Security Law of Hong Kong, the penalty for the offense of "subversion of state power" is as follows: "For principal offenders or those whose crimes are serious, the sentence is life imprisonment or imprisonment of not less than ten years." For active participants, the sentence is imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years. For other participants, the sentence is imprisonment of not more than three years, short-term imprisonment, or restriction of personal liberty. The judge explicitly stated that Benny Tai is the mastermind and driving force behind the case, and the prosecution further affirmed that he played a leadership role and promoted his "Ten Steps to Self-Destruction" plan. Therefore, he falls into the first category, "principal offenders and those whose crimes are serious," and should be sentenced to life imprisonment or a term of more than ten years.
(Note: The article represents the author's personal opinion and does not reflect the position of HKWISDOM. The Chinese version shall prevail)