Hong Kong activists face years in jail for subversion

HONG KONG: Four Hong Kong activists on Friday pleaded guilty to subversion, a violation that could see them jailed for years under the city’s Beijing-imposed national security law.

China is remoulding Hong Kong in its authoritarian image, using the wide-ranging security law to silence dissent.

The latest international criticism of the law came this week from the UN Human Rights Committee, which said it was too broad and applied arbitrarily.

On Friday, four people -- aged between 19 and 21 -- pleaded guilty to subversion, after prosecutors accused them of inciting others to overthrow the government.

They could now be imprisoned for years under the security law, which China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 after a wave of huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.

The four were accused of setting up street booths to promote "revolution" against the Chinese government and to incite separatism.