How a primary election led to activist convictions in Hong Kong’s biggest national security case

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Verdicts have been handed down in Hong Kong’s largest national security case to date. The case involves some of the city’s best-known pro-democracy activists. In 2021, 47 activists were charged with conspiracy to commit subversion for their involvement in an unofficial primary election. Fourteen were convicted on Thursday and face up to life in prison under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Two were acquitted and the remaining 31 had pleaded guilty earlier. The mass prosecution has crushed the city’s once-thriving political activism. Critics argue the law has drastically eroded freedoms that are vital to maintaining Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub.