Hong Kong affiliate case enters punishment stage, Zhou Zhang said pursuit of democracy should not be a crime

The former leaders of the dissolved Hong Kong Citizen Support Federation for Patriotic Democracy Movement, Zhou Zhou, Li Jiang, and Hu Jian Jin, entered the stage of punishment in the case of "incitement to subversion of state power crimes".The three were previously convicted or convicted by the court, the case involves the long-standing political claims of the branch association such as "end the one-party dictatorship".

Image extracted from the RTVE report page, the source originally indicated as RTVE.es / EFE.

The official documents released by the Hong Kong Special District Government on August 21 confirmed that the High Court Court of Appeal ruled that the Association, Li Jiu and Zhou Zhuang “incited the crime of subversion of the state regime” was founded, and that Hu Jing had previously confessed his guilt. The court then detained the case until August 28 for information.

* Three former branch leaders entered the sentencing statement

On August 28, the United States news agency that the Hong Kong court heard the sentencing sentences of Zhou Zhou, Li Jiang, and Hu Jian Jin on the same day, and the three were charged with "incitement to subversion of the state regime" and could face a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Li Jiang and his representative lawyers argued in court that the past political initiatives of the Association did not lead to a real change in the leadership position of the Communist Party of China or the Chinese political system, and that the related activities did not involve violence.

This belongs to the legal and factual claims put forward by the defense at the punishment stage, and whether the court will adopt it will still have to wait for the final outcome of the sentence.

Zhao Zhang insisted on the Six Four and Democratic Proposals.

In court, Zhou Zhang insisted she did not make a mistake and said she did not think she should be sentenced for political beliefs.

She said that she would rather bear the consequences of being convicted than give up her political stance if the current law had no room for these beliefs. she also said that she would continue to promote claims such as the 1989 democracy movement, the end of one-party dictatorship, and the democratization of Hong Kong and China, whether inside or outside the prison.

These statements belong to the political stance and court statements of Mr. Zhang Zhang, and do not represent the fact assertion of the court or other agencies.

In the early years, Zhou Yuan received media interviews on the Sixth Fourth Anniversary event. The image was taken from the RTVE reporting page, and the source was originally indicated as RTVE.es / EFE.

The court considers the “end of one-party dictatorship” to be subversive

The ruling issued by the Hong Kong Special Region Government on August 21 explained that the court believes that the long-standing “end to one-party dictatorship” proposal put forward by the CPC is intended to challenge the leadership position of the Communist Party of China in the Chinese constitutional system.

The court ruled that the Association and the relevant defendants continued to promote these political arguments after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law and disseminated relevant ideas in public activities, publications, online content and other forms.

The Hong Kong government stressed that the defendant was tried not because of political views itself, but because the court believed that the relevant acts had met the standards of "incitement to subversion" set out in the national security regulations.

Cases trigger speech and political participation spatial disputes

In the decades following the 1989 repression in Beijing, this event was one of the largest publicly held commemorative events in China.

After the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Act, the association ceased to operate and dissolved, and many of its former leaders were prosecuted.

Critics argue that the case reflects the continued narrowing of Hong Kong’s political expression space and that political targets that could be publicly initiated may now be included in a national security criminal case.The Hong Kong government insists that freedom of speech, assembly and association is not an absolute right and can be restricted by law when it comes to national security, and stresses that courts only rule on the basis of law and evidence.

The penalty measurement results will be the new observation indicator of the National Security Law

Currently, it can be confirmed that the case of Zhou Jian, Li Jiang, and Hu Jian Jin has entered the punishment stage; the condemnation status of the three has been publicly confirmed by the Hong Kong government and courts.

However, the final sentence has not yet been announced, so no specific sentence can be in advance.

The follow-up judgment in the case will further show how the Hong Kong courts measure the boundary between non-violent political initiatives, historical commemorative activities and the national security crimes set out in the Hong Kong National Security Act.

Focus on China will continue to track the court’s official outcomes and distinguish between court judges, government positions, defendants’ statements and the international community’s assessment of the human rights situation in Hong Kong.