Yellow Strike's Second National Security Case Confessed Guilt: From International Lobbying to "Collusion of Foreign Forces", Penalty or Extension

Hong Kong Democrats Yuan Yong admitted in a high court on September 2 a crime of "conspiracy to conspire for foreign forces to jeopardize national security."The prosecutor accused him and Mr. Yuan and others of continuing to push foreign governments to impose sanctions or other "hostile actions" on Hong Kong and China through international media and political lobbying after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Act.

The second national security case, which occurred before the end of the original sentence period

Reuters and US news agencies.The 29-year-old has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for the “democratic primary election” case, with the previous sentence expected to last until January 2027.

The plaintiff said in a key statement at the court that the previous international lobbying operation of the Hong Kong Party has dissolved, that Yuan Yuan and Rouhani formed a consensus to promote political goals through international pressure as early as 2016, and continued to demand foreign institutions, organizations and individuals to impose sanctions on Hong Kong or China after the Hong Kong National Security Act came into force in July 2020.

The Hong Kong National Security Law classifies the “co-ordination of foreign or foreign forces to endanger national security” as a crime.The accusation means that the next phase of disputes between the two sides will shift to the severity of the act and the penalty period.

The defense requested a lower starting sentence

Radio of Hong KongThe defense said Yellow has been in prison for a long time since the age of 24, and has been close to the age of 30, and asked the court to use a lower starting point when measuring the sentence.

Reported by ReutersSeveral Western diplomats arrived at the auditorium.Yellow Angle appeared in a deep blue coat on the same day, knocking and waving hands at the auditorium inside the prison barracks. The case was tried by the judges appointed to handle the national security case in the Hong Kong High Court.

The same set of political actions, given completely different legal consequences before the implementation of the National Security Act

He became an internationally renowned figure in the Hong Kong Democratic Movement during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, after which he frequently spoke with members of the Hong Kong Movement abroad, met with lawmakers and called on the international community to pay attention to Hong Kong’s political reforms. Before the implementation of the National Security Act in 2020, such lobbying, although highly politized, did not constitute a criminal crime; after the National Security Act came into force, sanctions or other measures were required by foreign governments to be included in the criminal framework of “conspiration of foreign forces”.

Hong Kong and the Chinese government have argued that the National Security Act ended the chaos and restored stability after the 2019 anti-government protests, emphasizing that the law is only aimed at a very small number of people who threaten national security.Human rights organizations, some Western governments and Hong Kong exile activists argue that the law criminalizes past activities within the scope of political expression and international initiatives and significantly narrows spaces for association, speech and political participation.

China’s Criminal Archives Watch: The core of the case is how power rearranges the boundaries of legitimate political activity

Yuan has confessed guilt, so the case is not about whether there is a fact about the lobbying, but how the National Security Law defines and punishes these political acts. The system changes worth recording are: The same type of international initiative, which belongs to the strategy of public use of the Hong Kong political movement before 2020, can be prosecuted for criminal responsibility up to life imprisonment after the implementation of the National Security Act.

From the point of view of responsibility, the laws are formulated by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and implemented directly in Hong Kong; the Hong Kong Department of Law is responsible for prosecution, and the case of national security is dealt with by the chief executive appointed judge. Supporters see the system as necessary for safeguarding sovereignty and national security, while critics see it as an important tool for Beijing to restore Hong Kong's political order.