On Tuesday, Li Yue Shun, one of the two acquitted, was in line. He told reporters he wanted to urge Hong Kongers to “raise questions” about the case, as “everyone has a chance to be affected” by its outcome.
Several activists were waiting for the court. Bobo Lam, who was once arrested under the NSL, said he came to support friends who are currently in prison and “let them know that there are still many Hong Kongers who have not forgotten them”. Others seemed delighted by how many people turned up, believing they “remember what happened”.
An elderly woman, Regina Fung, chanted before the hearing: “Everybody hang in there, stand up for Hong Kong.” “It’s very sad, even the weather in Hong Kong today is miserable,” she said.
Inside the courtroom, family members and friends waved from the gallery to the defendants, who appeared calm as they sat in the dock. Some in the gallery had tears in their eyes as the sentences ranging from four to 10 years were read out.
Tye, a former law professor who came up with a plan for an unofficial primary, was given the longest term with justices who said he “advocated a revolution.”
Wong’s sentence was reduced by a third after he pleaded guilty. But, unlike some other defendants, he was not given leniency because the judges “did not consider him a person of good character.” At the time of the arrests, Wong was already in prison for participating in protests.
In court, Wong shouted: “I love Hong Kong” before leaving the dock.
When Leung’s wife, the activist Chang Poin, left the court at the end of the hearing, she could be heard chanting in protest against his jail term.
