Hong Kong's "47 people case" Wuhan Wei sentenced to imprisonment: after more than five years of detention, he returned to Wu Long, saying he would stay in Hong Kong

On the morning of September 25, Hong Kong’s former congressman Wu Jinwei served a term of imprisonment in the “Democratic Preliminary 47” case. On the same day, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, he met his family and friends in Hong Kong and was interviewed by Hong Kong media.

Arrested at age 25 and released from prison at age 31

Woodenweig was arrested in early 2021 for a Democratic preliminary case, then charged with conspiracy to subvert the state regime. He eventually confessed guilt, and the court listed him as an "active participant" in the punishment, sentenced to five years and seven months in prison. The court line that he was still in custody at the age of 25 and out of prison at the age of 31.

The case originated in the 2020 Democratic organization’s primary legislative election. The indictment refers to the planned participants to veto the budget after obtaining a majority of seats in the legislature and force the chief executive to resign, constituting a conspiracy to subvert state power under the Hong Kong National Security Act.

Wu Jinwei told the media on the 25th that he did not intentionally count his sentences in prison day by day, so he did not know before he would be released on the day of Mid-Autumn Festival.

Woodenweier says he has been in isolated prison for a long time

According to court lines and independent media interviews in Hong Kong, Wu said he spent most of his time in solitary detention for more than five years, learning about the outside world on a daily basis mainly through newspapers, radio and information provided by friends.

This part is a public statement by Wu Zhengwei himself about his imprisonment experience.The Hong Kong Penal Office has not made a public statement as to the length of his individual detention as of the time of writing of this article.

First public decision after leaving jail: stay in Hong Kong

Unlike some of the defendants in the same case who have already left Hong Kong, Wu Jinwei made it clear that he is currently preparing to stay in Hong Kong. He said the reality is different than it was a few years ago, and the future needs to live and participate in community affairs in a different way; if the residents still need it, he hopes to continue to provide the help he can without being a district member.

47 cases have not yet been completed

Woodenweig’s release does not mean that the “47-person case” has ended.Judgment line case tracking on the same day showed that several defendants are still serving sentences or in appeal proceedings; the final trial court is expected to deal with final appeal permission applications for part of the defendants who did not acknowledge guilt this December.

There is a difference in the statistics of "how many defendants have been released" in different media: the court line 21 people according to its statistics, and the Hong Kong independent media 22 people later on the same day.

Wu’s release provides a specific case to observe the long-term consequences of the Hong Kong National Security Case: after the end of the sentence, the parties still need to re-adjust to family, work, social and public life, while the judicial process of the case is still ongoing.