Hong Kong 47: Benny Tai’s pre-security law actions relevant for sentencing, judges say

Judges reject defence claim over past conduct tied to unofficial Legco ‘primary’ held in month after Beijing-imposed law took effect

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Benny Tai has always been an advocate for non-violence, his lawyer has argued. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 1:33pm, 26 Jun 2024Updated: 9:44pm, 26 Jun 2024

A Hong Kong court has rejected legal scholar Benny Tai Yiu-ting’s contention that it should not take into account his actions before the 2020 implementation of the national security law when deciding his sentence for subversion.

The three judges overseeing the critical mitigation proceedings in the city’s largest national security trial on Wednesday highlighted the relevance of past conduct in the sentencing of Tai, who is among 45 opposition figures convicted of conspiracy to subvert state power.

They also found no merit in the defence submission that the former law professor, who devised an unofficial legislative “primary” election held in July 2020, had little or no role to play in a conspiracy to bring down the government.

Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wing told West Kowloon Court the case involved a “very lengthy and premeditated” plan to violate the security legislation.

The Beijing-imposed national security law was enacted on June 30, 2020, just before the primary took place on July 11 and 12.

“That’s the beginning of a chain reaction. You cannot simply artificially divide the whole thing into two,” the judge said.