Hong Kong 47: Ex-district councillor says he has ‘no regrets’ after release from prison

A former pro-democracy district councillor has become the latest among those jailed in the landmark “Hong Kong 47” national security case to be released from prison, after spending five years and seven months behind bars for conspiracy to subvert state power.

Ng Kin-wai, an ex-local councillor in Yuen Long, was released from Shek Pik Prison on Lantau Island on Friday, local media reported. Several vehicles with curtains drawn were seen departing the facility in the early hours of Friday morning.

The 31-year-old later appeared in Yuen Long and had breakfast with a former District Council colleague, before speaking to reporters about his newfound freedom.

Wearing the same grey suit he wore during a mitigation hearing in 2024, Ng said he had no regrets about his pro-democracy advocacy.

“In the past five years and seven months, I have been sad, confused, and angry – but I have also been proud of myself,” he said in Cantonese. “Because I chose what I believed was best for the future of Hong Kong at that time, and I chose to sacrifice.”

‘Face reality, not accept it’

At the centre of the Hong Kong 47 case was an unofficial primary election in July 2020, through which the city’s pro-democracy camp aimed to identify candidates to maximise their chances of winning a legislative majority in an upcoming poll.

The camp had planned to threaten a veto of government budgets for political demands like universal suffrage in the wake of the 2019 protests and unrest.

The police arrested pro-democracy figures linked to the scheme in dawn raids in January 2021, charging 47 with conspiracy to subvert state power under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

A court in 2024 ruled that the scheme would have resulted in a “constitutional crisis” had it succeeded.

Forty-five defendants were convicted and sentenced to jail terms of up to a decade. Two were acquitted.

Ng said on Friday that Hong Kong’s political reality has changed, but added: “We have to face reality, but that doesn’t mean we have to accept that reality.”

“Humanity has a passionate desire for freedom and justice,” he said. “The future is created by people with strong beliefs who persistently seek change and are willing to take action.”

“Imprisonment cannot stop the pursuit of freedom… Nowadays, it requires better wisdom, more solidarity, and persistence to achieve our ideals,” he added.

Ng is the 22nd defendant to have completed their jail term in the landmark national security case.

Eleven of them have been given permission to take their cases to the apex Court of Final Appeal, though a hearing date has yet to be fixed.

Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.

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