“I hope they can be released immediately. The 47 only wanted to fight for genuine universal suffrage for us, (there were) no other motives, not to take the power,” Wong told AFP.
Prosecutors said the defendants planned to seize a legislative majority to force Hong Kong authorities to meet the “five demands” raised by protesters in 2019.
The demands included launching an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality against protesters and gaining universal suffrage for both the city’s leader and lawmakers.
Prosecutors also allege the defendants intended to veto the government’s budgets with the intent of forcing the chief executive to step down.
Lead prosecutor Jonathan Man argued on Wednesday that the activists should be convicted even if no violence was involved, as it had become easier for people to manipulate public communication channels to subvert state power.
“We are talking about a conspiracy to have legislators vetoing the budget indiscriminately,” Man said.
The national security law was “meant to be a strong law” and should not be narrowly interpreted, he added.
The defence earlier argued that the activists were only planning to exercise legislators’ constitutional powers and did not believe they would break the law.
Source: CNA
