The "Hong Kong National Security Law" will be implemented for two years on Thursday (30th), and the National Security Department of the police has arrested a total of 196 people.
In the past year, there have been many high-profile cases, including: five trustees of the "612 Fund" that supports people arrested for opposing the amendment were accused of "colluding with foreign forces"; the now-suspended "Stand News" and "Apple Daily" have many Senior leaders arrested; stake chairman and vice-chairman arrested for "inciting subversion of the state."
The "primary election case" involving the crime of "subversion of state power" has yet to be tried, and more than 30 arrested persons have been in custody for more than 480 days.
The outside world is concerned about the injustice caused by long-term detention. Former Secretary of Security Lai Tung Kwok pointed out that the case is serious and involves a large number of defendants, and the legal process will inevitably take time. It is necessary to try relevant cases as soon as possible. As for whether it is necessary to review the bail threshold, he emphasized that the "National Security Law" was promulgated by the central government and cannot be handled by Hong Kong.
▼On May 24, 6 trustees of the "612 Humanitarian Support Fund" appeared in court▼
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Vatican expresses extreme concern over Chen Rijun's arrest
The Department of Homeland Security has so far arrested 196 people, suspected of engaging in acts and activities endangering national security. More than 120 people have been prosecuted, and 5 companies have been involved in "Apple Daily", "Stand News" and stake companies. In the past year, the Department of Homeland Security has several cases In a very high-profile arrest, in May this year, the police arrested five trustees of the "612 Fund" for "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces or foreign forces to endanger national security", including Cardinal Chen Yat-kun, bishop emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong.
The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong issued a statement after the incident, stating that it is extremely concerned about the situation and safety of the cardinal, prays fervently for the cardinal, and urges the police and judicial authorities to handle the incident in accordance with the principles of reason and justice.
The Vatican also expressed its extreme concern about the situation, and Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin expressed his concern and was very sad.
The Position News case
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"Standard News" seven arrested in "Apple Daily" case, 14 arrested
In the media industry, from December last year to April this year, the State Security Department successively arrested seven people from Stand News for "conspiracy to publish seditious publications"; as for Next Media Group's "Apple Daily", the police have been conducting an operation that lasted for two years. , arrested 14 people for "conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or foreign forces to endanger national security".
Seven people from the disbanded stake were also arrested. Among them, former chairman Li Zhuoren, former vice-chairmen Ho Junren, and Zou Xingtong were charged with "inciting subversion of state power." .
Next Media Group
Judges appointed by the National Security Law are also concerned about the length of time
The outside world has been concerned about the case involving the National Security Law for a long time. When Du Libing, the designated judge of the National Security Law, was handling a bail application for a "primary case" in April this year, she raised concerns in the verdict, believing that the progress of the case was delayed, and suggested setting a deadline to decide Whether primary inquiries are required.
Currently, about 80 people arrested by the National Security Department are still awaiting trial. The founder of Next Media, Li Zhiying, was arrested in December 2020 for violating the National Security Law, and he was sentenced to prison in April 2021 for multiple illegal assembly cases. It has been 20 months, but its national security law case has not yet been tried; as for Apple's then-CEO Zhang Jianhong, vice president Chen Peimin, editor-in-chief Luo Weiguang, etc., as of June 30 this year, it has been over a year.
In the "primary election case", most of the 34 returnees accused of "subversion of state power" have been returned for more than 480 days since their arrest in January 2021. Many people involved in the case have applied for bail. refuse.
Among the other returnees, Yin Yaosheng (Jess), the host of the online station, was accused of sponsoring others to split the country, laundering money, etc., and returned more than 500 days.
"Primary Selection"
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10 national security law cases concluded with 100% conviction rate
According to statistics from the Security Bureau, as of this month, 10 national security law cases have been tried, all of them have been convicted, and the conviction rate is 100%. "Captain America 2.0" Ma Junwen, former student Dong Yuan Zhong Hanlin, etc. Among them, Tang Yingjie was sentenced to 9 years in prison. The court also ruled that the display of the "Light Time" flag in the case contained the meaning of Hong Kong independence and could be regarded as inciting others to split Behavior.
Lai Tung-kwok, a former Secretary for Security and a member of the New Democracy Legislative Council, pointed out that legal proceedings in serious cases generally take time, but the public may not pay attention.
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Li Dongguo does not agree that it is up to the central government to decide whether to deliberately delay the review
Lai Tung-kwok, former Secretary of the Security Bureau and member of the Legislative Council of the New Democracy Party, pointed out that in serious cases involving murder, legal proceedings generally take time, but the public may not pay attention. Considering that some are applying for bail, the prosecution and defense also need to agree to the facts of the case first. If a guilty plea or defense is involved, it will take time to process.
Li Dongguo continued to point out that the "National Security Law" stipulates that relevant cases must be tried as soon as possible, and I believe relevant departments will follow up, "I understand that there are doubts from the outside world, but if there is deliberate delay, it is unfair, and the defendant's lawyer has already proposed with the judge that it should be I want to see the whole thing."
Regarding the opinions on reviewing the bail threshold, Li Dongguo said that the National Security Law was formulated by the central government and cannot be handled by Hong Kong. , otherwise bail shall not be granted.”
Member of the Executive Council, SC Tang Jiahua.
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Tang Jiahua: It is difficult to comment on whether the discussion of effectiveness is fair and premature
Member of the Executive Council, Senior Counsel Tang Jiahua, said that although the National Security Law has been implemented for two years, although Hong Kong seems to be calm, there are still individuals arrested for violating the National Security Law, and it is difficult to comment on the results. "National security crimes are very serious and generally more difficult. Bail, I believe it has nothing to do with political elements, it is too early to comment on whether it is fair at this stage.”
The National Security Department detained 2 men for posting seditious messages online. On Friday, the martial arts hall was involved in the formation of the "Ghost Killing Squad Training Course" of the Hong Kong Independence Armed Forces. He succeeded Chen Guoji as secretary-general of the National Security Commission and Deputy Director of the Security Bureau, Ou Zhiguang, refused to comment on the new tricks of electricity fraud | Fraudsters pretended to be "National Security Office" and accused Hong Kong independence-related requests for account password investigation