14 pro-democracy activists found guilty of subversion in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court on Thursday found 14 of 16 pro-democracy activists guilty of conspiring to subvert the state in the Chinese territory's single largest case under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing.

Two of the defendants, Lau Wai-chung and Lee Yue-shun, were found not guilty.

The defendants, who could be sentenced to life in prison, are among 47 politicians, academics and other pro-democracy figures who were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion over their involvement in an unofficial primary election. The judgment is being issued by Hong Kong's High Court over two days on Thursday and Friday.

Critics say the trial symbolizes the decline of freedoms in the international financial hub amid a crackdown on dissent following mass anti-government protests in 2019.

"This trial is not just a trial for these 47 individuals," said Eric Yan-ho Lai, a research fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law. "It's a trial for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong."

Most of the 47 have been held without bail since being charged in early 2021. Of those, 31 pleaded guilty in the hopes of a reduced sentence, while the remaining 16 pleaded not guilty.

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The 47 range in age from their 20s to their 60s and include prominent names such as legal scholar Benny Tai, former pro-democracy lawmaker Claudia Mo and Joshua Wong, best known internationally as a leader of pro-democracy protests in 2014. The defendants who pleaded not guilty and