‘Gravely concerned’: Australian activist Gordon Ng jailed in Hong Kong

Australian citizen Gordon Ng from Sydney was one of 45 defendants convicted in Hong Kong’s largest trial under its sweeping national security law.

A Hong Kong court on Tuesday jailed all 45 defendants convicted in the city’s largest trial under its sweeping national security law, with “mastermind” Benny Tai receiving the longest term of 10 years.

International condemnation was swift, with the United States, Australia and rights groups slamming the sentencing as evidence of the erosion of political freedoms in the city since Beijing imposed the security law in 2020.

Australia said it was “gravely concerned” by Tuesday’s sentencing of 45 people under Hong Kong’s restrictive national security law, including Australian citizen Gordon Ng.

“This is a deeply difficult time for Mr Ng, his family and supporters,” said Foreign Minister Penny Wong, reiterating “strong objections” about the “continuing broad application of national security legislation”.

Ng attended Waverley College in Sydney’s east before studying mathematics and commerce at the University of NSW. He has been in jail since his February 2021 arrest.

Pro-democracy activist Gordon Ng, charged with subversion under Hong Kong's National Security Law. Picture: YouTube

Tai’s jail term is the longest yet handed out under the law, which was brought in to quash dissent after massive, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.

The group, which included figures from across Hong Kong’s once-diverse political spectrum, was charged with subversion after they held an informal poll in 2020 as part of a strategy to win a pro-democracy electoral majority.

On Tuesday, the 45 were led into court and crammed into the defendant’s dock, from where they occasionally waved to the public gallery.

Along with Tai, pro-democracy politicians Au Nok-hin, Andrew Chiu, Ben Chung and Australian citizen Gordon Ng were singled out as organisers and received sentences of up to seven years and three months.

Australia’s government said it was “gravely concerned” by the sentencing, and said it would continue to advocate for Ng’s “best interests”.

The other 40 defendants received terms beginning from four years and two months. After Tai, the second-longest sentence was handed to young activist Owen Chow, at seven years and nine months, with the court saying he “took a more proactive role in the scheme than other defendants”.

Originally published as ‘Gravely concerned’: Australian activist Gordon Ng jailed in Hong Kong