A Hong Kong court recently made a decision to prevent activist Chow Hang-tung from calling on overseas witnesses to testify virtually in her national security trial. This decision came shortly after the enactment of a new rule under Article 23, the city’s national security law, which prohibits overseas witnesses from giving evidence in such cases. Chow, who is accused of inciting subversion of state power under the national security law, was charged alongside Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho, as well as the group they were part of.
Chow argued in court that denying defendants in national security cases the right to summon overseas witnesses virtually was unfair treatment compared to defendants in non-national security cases. She pointed out that the basis for this new rule was to prevent harassment or intervention of witnesses’ evidence, but she argued that this could happen in non-national security cases as well. Chow also raised concerns that the authorities may have implemented this rule specifically to hinder her ability to call overseas witnesses to testify in her trial.
In response to Chow’s arguments, the government prosecutor stated that the amendment was not targeted at her personally and that the comparison between national security cases and non-national security cases was not valid. He emphasized that under the law, no defendant in a national security case was allowed to call overseas witnesses to testify virtually.
Chow, along with Lee and Ho, were members of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The group was banned in 2020 due to Covid-19 restrictions. The trial for the activists is set to begin next May and is expected to last 75 days. The trial will be presided over by a panel of national security judges instead of a jury.
Chow previously applied to have one of the judges presiding over the trial removed from the case, citing concerns of prejudice. However, the judges ruled against her, stating that the defendants would receive a fair trial. Chow and two former members of the Alliance were jailed for refusing to comply with a data request from national security police. They are currently challenging the verdict, with the Court of Final Appeal scheduled to hear the case in January.
The case of Chow Hang-tung and her co-accused highlights the challenges faced by activists in Hong Kong under the national security law. The restrictions on calling overseas witnesses virtually raise concerns about the fairness of trials in national security cases. As the trial progresses, the outcome will have significant implications for the future of activism and dissent in Hong Kong.