On Monday, a Hong Kong court began the trial of 13 people over the 2019 looting of the local parliament, which posed an unprecedented challenge to Beijing’s authority.
That episode was the most violent of the beginnings of the massive pro-democracy protest that rocked Hong Kong this year, and saw millions of protesters staging weeks of marches and sit-ins.
On the night of July 1, 2019, the 22nd anniversary of the UK’s handover of Hong Kong to China, protesters hostile to the pro-Beijing local government attacked the chamber of parliament, the Legislative Council (LegCo), after they had enforced violence The entrance was guarded by police and had displayed the British colonial flag there. They smashed windows and covered walls with graffiti.
The 13 people on trial Monday were charged with taking part in a riot, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Seven of them pleaded guilty at the start of Monday’s hearing in exchange for no further charges being brought against them.
“I have never regretted my fight for freedom, justice and democracy,” said Althea Suen, who pleaded guilty, in a message posted to Facebook early in the trial. “My spirit will remain free when I am in prison.”
The six defendants, who have pleaded not guilty to involvement in a riot, face additional charges (illegal entry into parliament and “criminal damage to property”), each of which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The process is expected to take 44 days.
More than 10,000 people were arrested as part of authorities’ efforts to quell the 2019 protest movement, which has been one of Beijing’s biggest challenges since it took power in 1997.
In 2020, Beijing enacted a national security law in Hong Kong that criminalized most dissent and crushed the pro-democracy movement. Some 2,900 people were prosecuted on charges related to the protests.