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Tang Yingjie faces three charges, including two charges under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. He may face life imprisonment.
The first case under Hong Kong’s National Security Law opened in the Hong Kong High Court on Wednesday (June 23). The defendant Tang Yingjie was accused of violating the National Security Law of “inciting others to split the country” and “terrorist activities.” Both can be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Tang Yingjie was photographed on the streets of Hong Kong on July 1 last year, the second day after the National Security Act came into force, driving a motorcycle with the banner of “Recover Hong Kong Times Revolution”, and then met several people on the streets. The riot police officer handling the demonstration did not stop as instructed. When he was finally stopped by the police officer, he fell off the motorcycle. Other police officers on the scene immediately rushed to subdue him.
In addition to the above two charges, the prosecution also accused Tang Yingjie of violating the “crime of causing severe bodily harm to others by dangerous driving” which is not within the scope of the National Security Law, which is an alternate charge of “terrorist activity”. In other words, even if the judge believes that Tang Yingjie’s “terrorist activity” is not guilty, he still needs to consider whether his actions have committed the crime. The maximum fine is 50,000 Hong Kong dollars (about 6,400 US dollars) and imprisonment for seven years.
In addition to being the first case to be heard under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, this case is a rare case in the Hong Kong High Court without a jury. The court will be handled by three specialized judges who will hear cases related to the National Security Law. The Hong Kong media estimated that the entire process of interrogation on Wednesday will take 15 working days and is expected to last until July 13.
Image source,Reuters
On the day of the trial, the police deployed defense outside the court building.
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In the trial, the prosecution first read out the opening statement, saying that there were demonstrations on Hong Kong Island on the day of the incident. Tang Yingjie drove a motorcycle with a flag and passed three police defense lines on Hong Kong Island. The police officer motioned to him. Stopping the car, but was ignored, it caused cheers from passers-by. At the end of the fourth line of defense, a police officer tried to catch him but was unsuccessful. Eventually, he crashed into three police officers, injuring two of them.
In the opening statement, the prosecution also pointed out that Tang Yingjie was aware of the social incidents that had occurred since June 2019 and also knew the Hong Kong National Security Law that was implemented on June 30 last year. The prosecution also pointed out that there was a heated debate in Hong Kong society over the slogan “Recover Hong Kong’s Revolution”, but Tang Yingjie continued to display this slogan, showing that he hoped to encourage others to do similar behaviors.
Hong Kong Secretary of Justice Zheng Ruohua: National security has never been a matter of the autonomy of the Hong Kong region
The prosecution later called witnesses to interpret the meaning of “Recover Hong Kong, Revolution of the Times”. This slogan was originally used by local activist Liang Tianqi when he participated in the legislative council by-election in 2016. Later in the wave of demonstrations in 2019, demonstrators also used it as one of the slogans.
This slogan is not mentioned in Hong Kong’s National Security Law, but it has aroused criticism from the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. As early as August 2019, Yang Guang, a spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of China, criticized that Hong Kong is China’s Hong Kong and asked the demonstrators “where they want to restore Hong Kong”. He also believed that this slogan showed that the demonstrators’ political motives were urges. Come with “One Country”.
In addition, the Hong Kong government issued a statement on the third day after Hong Kong’s “National Security Law” came into effect, stating that this slogan “has the meaning of promoting Hong Kong’s independence or subverting the Chinese state power” at that time.
Image source,ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP
During the trial, Liu Zhipeng, an expert witness called and a professor in the Department of History at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said that after analyzing the slogan that appeared in the past, he concluded that the slogan “Recover Hong Kong, Revolution of the Times” meant Hong Kong’s independence and split China. The conclusion.
In the afternoon, the court hearing mainly played the CCTV surveillance footage of Tang Yingjie driving a motorcycle on Hong Kong Island to the scene along the road. After that, the prosecution summoned a police officer who was responsible for the demonstration that day to describe the situation of the day on duty. The trial was suspended at about 4:30 pm local time and resumed on Thursday (June 24).
On the first day that Hong Kong’s National Security Law took effect, people took to the streets to fight as usual, and hundreds of people were arrested.
At the beginning of the trial, an episode occurred. One of the judges alleged that some members of the public were taking photos in the courtroom, violating the rule that no photos or videos were allowed in the courtroom. Hong Kong media quoted sources saying that the suspects were two middle-aged men who took pictures in the public gallery and press gallery of the court. Police officers were present to deal with it.
No jury is required by the government
The Hong Kong court had already made decisions on different aspects such as the trial method and conviction standards of the case before the case was officially opened.
The defendant once proposed that considering that the case may involve a sentence of life imprisonment, the case should be tried by a jury. This is the right that the defendant should enjoy. This request was rejected by the court.
Trial of cases involving national security law without a jury is regarded as a landmark in changing Hong Kong’s existing legal traditions.
The court finally accepted the request of the Hong Kong government, on the grounds of “protecting the safety of jurors”, without setting up a jury to decide whether to convict the defendant. This is different from the way Hong Kong courts handle many general criminal cases.
Article 46 of Hong Kong’s National Security Law stipulates that the government, the Secretary for Justice, can use the protection of state secrets or the safety of jurors as reasons to instruct that cases involving the National Security Law do not need to have a jury. The next trial.
Tang Yingjie believes that the government’s approach is unreasonable because Hong Kong’s Basic Law stipulates that the jury system will be retained after the transfer of sovereignty, and the government has not explained the actual reasons for deciding not to establish a jury.
The judge finally accepted the government’s justification. There is no jury in the case, and a trial court composed of three judges handles the case.
The court also ruled earlier that in Tang Yingjie’s “crime of secession”, violence is not necessarily an element of the charge, which means that the defendant can be convicted even if he did not use violence in the process, and he faced The court ruled that the prosecution must prove that the act would “cause serious social harm” before being convicted.