Some of Hong Kong’s best-known pro-democracy activists went on trial Monday in the biggest prosecution yet under a law imposed by China’s ruling Communist Party to crush dissent.
The 18 defendants face up to life in prison if convicted under the national security law critics say is eroding the autonomy promised when Hong Kong returned to China in 1997, and its status as a global business center.
"The purpose of the conspiracy is to subvert the state power,” the prosecutor said in his opening statement. While most of the 47 activists who were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion have been detained without bail for nearly two years, former lawmakers Raymond Chan and Helena Wong, who appeared in court on Monday, were among the minority who were granted bail based on strict conditions.
Three members of the League of Social Democrats staged a small protest outside the complex, urging the immediate release of all political prisoners.
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