Prison Sentences of Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Leaders, Ranked According to Length
#13 in Hong Kong Repression Monitor series
The Hong Kong Repression Monitor series provides overviews of indicators of repression in Hong Kong, based on research and data collected from 2019 to the present. For more information, see the introduction, which also has a full list of entries in the series as they are published.
This article is #13 in the Hong Kong Repression Monitor series.
In the ongoing crackdown in Hong Kong, the government has specifically targeted pro-democracy leaders. In one way or another, just about every pro-democracy leader has been subjected to one form or persecution or another.
The numbers of arrests, convictions and imprisonments are so high as to seem almost unbelievable:
225 pro-democracy leaders have been arrested 380 times. Some have been arrested as many as seven times each.
128 pro-democracy leaders have been convicted 184 times. Some have been convicted as many as six times each.
75 pro-democracy leaders have been imprisoned, receiving a total of 125 sentences, with five sentenced to a total of more than 100 months (eight years and four months) each.
“Pro-democracy leaders” here means those who have held elected office (Legislative Council and District Council) representing a pro-democracy political party; leaders of pro-democracy political parties; leaders of pro-democracy civil society organizations, student unions, trade unions, and protest groups; pro-democracy candidates for elected office; as well as a media owner, a religious leader, and a singer.
This is a breakdown of those arrested by position:
120 District Councillors
47 Legislative Council candidates
33 political party leaders
26 civil society organization leaders
22 student union leaders
16 Legislative Councillors
11 trade union leaders
5 primary election organizers
4 leaders of protest groups
2 District Council candidates
1 media owner
1 religious leader
1 singer
Almost all of the organizations they belonged to no longer exist.1 (For a full list of organizations that have been closed due to state repression, see here.) People espousing pro-democracy views are now excluded from running for or holding any elected office, so there is no pro-democracy representation in the Legislative Council or District Councils.
Dozens of pro-democracy leaders who are not currently in prison have fled Hong Kong, as can be seen here. Some left after having served their prison sentences. Some fled in order to avoid prison. Still others the Hong Kong police have issued arrest warrants and bounties for.
Below is the “league table” of all pro-democracy leaders sentenced to prison, ranked according to the length of their sentences.
At this moment, just about all trials of pro-democracy leaders have concluded, with the exception of the trial of Jimmy Lai which awaits a verdict, and the trial of Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho, and Lee Cheuk-yan, three leaders of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, which held the annual June 4 candlelight vigil for three decades. The start of that trial has been repeatedly postponed. It’s now schedule to begin later this year.
PRISON SENTENCES OF HONG KONG PRO-DEMOCRACY LEADERS, RANKED ACCORDING TO LENGTH
Each entry provides the following information in this order: name; total length of sentence(s), in months; number of sentences.
In the case of individuals who have been convicted in more than one trial, the total length of sentences is cumulative, though in some cases, sentences are served partially or fully concurrently.
All sentences are rounded up to the nearest half-month.
The asterisks after the names of Jimmy Lai, Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho denote that their trials have not yet concluded. In all likelihood, they will be convicted and face even more time in prison.
Names in bold denote people who are currently in prison—49 in all.
Owen Chow, 154 months, two sentences
Benny Tai, 130 months, two sentences
Lam Cheuk-ting, 123 months, four sentences
Jimmy Lai*, 113 months, five sentences
Ventus Lau, 107.5 months, two sentences
Leung Kwok-hung (Long Hair), 103.5 months, seven sentences
Au Nok-hin, 93.5 months, three sentences
Tam Tak-chi, 93 months, two sentences
Prince Wong Ji-yuet, 90 months, two sentences
Gordon Ng, 87 months, one sentence
Gwyneth Ho, 84.5 months, two sentences
Andrew Chiu, 84 months, one sentence
Joshua Wong, 82.5 months, five sentences
Ricky Or, 81 months, one sentence
Winnie Yu, 81 months, one sentence
Helena Wong, 79 months, two sentences
Kalvin Ho, 79 months, one sentence
Sze Tak-loy, 79 months, one sentence
Tat Cheng, 78 months, one sentence
Clarisse Yeung, 78 months, one sentence
Michael Pang, 78 months, one sentence
Raymond Chan, 78 months, one sentence
Ben Chung, 73 months, one sentence
Andrew Wan, 68 months, three sentences
Wu Chi-wai, 67.5 months, three sentences
Ng Kin-wai, 67 months, one sentence
Eddie Chu, 63 months, three sentences
Mike Lam, 62 months, one sentence
Lester Shum, 61.5 months, three sentences
Alvin Yeung, 61 months, one sentence
Henry Wong Pak-yu, 61 months, one sentence
Figo Chan, 60 months, five sentences
Fergus Leung, 59 months, one sentence
Sam Cheung, 59 months, one sentence
Tiffany Yuen, 55 months, one sentence
Frankie Fung, 53 months, one sentence
Nathan Lau, 53 months, one sentence
Carol Ng, 53 months, one sentence
Jimmy Sham, 51 months, one sentence
Kinda Li, 51 months, one sentence
Roy Tam, 51 months, one sentence
Hendrik Lui, 51 months, one sentence
Andy Chui, 50 months, one sentence
Claudia Mo, 50 months, one sentence
Jeremy Tam, 50 months, one sentence
Kwok Ka-ki, 50 months, one sentence
Gary Fan, 50 months, one sentence
Lee Cheuk-yan*, 43 months, five sentences
Tony Chung, 43 months, one sentence
Cyd Ho, 39 months, five sentences
Wong Yat-chin, 36 months, one sentence
Wong Yuen-lam, 34 months, one sentence
Albert Ho*, 32 months, three sentences
Chow Hang-tung*, 31.5 months, three sentences
Chu Wai-ying, 30 months, one sentence
Max Chung, 16 months, one sentence
Kinson Cheung, 15 months, one sentence
Charles Kwok, 15 months, one sentence
Chris Todorovski, 15 months, one sentence
Anthony Yung, 15 months, one sentence
Lancelot Chan, 15 months, one sentence
Raphael Wong, 14 months, one sentence
Richard Tsoi, 12 months, one sentence
Agnes Chow, 10 months, one sentence
Leung Yiu-chung, 10 months, one sentence
Leung Kam-wai, 9 months, one sentence
Keith Fong, 9 months, one sentence
Steven Kwok, 9 months, one sentence
Chiu Yan-loy, 8 months, one sentence
Ivan Lam, 7 months, one sentence
Li Chi-wang, 7 months, one sentence
Janelle Leung, 4 months, one sentence
Herman Yiu, 3 months, one sentence
Ben Ho, 1.5 months, one sentence
Fernando Cheung, 1 month, one sentence
Exceptions include the League of Social Democrats and the Democratic Party. LSD is incessantly persecuted and will feature in an upcoming Hong Kong Repression Monitor post. The Democratic party continues to exist as a kind of rump organization, with few activities, and no representation in formal governmental structures.