Two Hong Kong men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit secession over joining a Taiwan-based group that advocates independence for the city.
Chan Tai-sum, 27, and Ng Chi-tung, 25, appeared at the District Court on Friday to face the charge under the national security law Beijing imposed in 2020, according to local media reports.
The pair admitted to being “active members” of the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union between November 2024 and July 2025. The Taiwan-based group advocates for Hong Kong’s independence from China.
The court heard that Chan told police after his arrest how he had joined the group in order to obtain political asylum in Canada, while Ng said he joined out of “curiosity.”
Police found chat logs on the pair’s phones showing they had communicated with other group members via the messaging app Line, and that Chan had contributed to the group’s logo design and the drafting of an organisational charter.
The defence submitted in mitigation that both defendants have autism; Chan had sought treatment since the age of 12, and Ng was diagnosed when he was in primary school.
Lawyers for Chan added that the defendant was sentenced to a year in jail for sedition in 2022 leaving him “isolated” after his release later that year.
Remanded in custody
District Judge Ernest Lin remanded the pair in custody pending sentencing on July 29. They have been detained since their arrest in July last year.
A third defendant in the case, a 16-year-old boy, was jailed for three and a half years in December last year after pleading guilty to the same offence.
While the maximum penalty for secession is life behind bars, jail terms meted out by the District Court are capped at seven years.
Authorities banned the operations of the Hong Kong Democratic Independence Union and the Canada-based Hong Kong Parliament in December last year on national security grounds.
The government said the objectives of the two groups included promoting “self-determination” and overthrowing or undermining the basic system of the People’s Republic of China.
