Wu Chi-wai, an ex-lawmaker and former chair of the now-defunct Democratic Party, has been released from prison after serving almost four and a half years for his conviction in the city’s largest national security case.
Wu arrived at Fung Tak Estate in Diamond Hill on Tuesday morning by car. Earlier on Tuesday, two seven-seater vehicles with curtains drawn were seen leaving Stanley Prison, where Wu served his sentence, according to local media reports.
The 63-year-old, carrying two bags of personal belongings as he stepped out of a car, only said “thank you” twice and did not respond to questions from reporters at the scene.
The ex-Democratic Party chair is the 20th defendant in the landmark Hong Kong 47 case to have completed his prison term after being convicted in 2024 of conspiring to commit subversion.
Wu, who was a lawmaker from 2012 to 2020, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years and five months in jail. Separately, he also served a jail term of 14 months and two weeks for two unauthorised assembly cases in 2020.
The veteran politician took the helm of the Democratic Party in 2016 and stepped down in late 2020, following protests and unrests that began the year before and the enactment of a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2020.
The Democratic Party voted to disband in December last year after operating in the city for more than three decades.
When asking for a lighter sentence for Wu during the court case’s mitigation stage, his legal team submitted letters from several former top government officials, including ex-transport minister Anthony Cheung and former labour chief Law Chi-kwong. He was described as a “civil and rational” politician, his lawyer said.
However, the three-judge panel found Wu to be an “active participant” in what they ruled was a subversive scheme under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
At the centre of the Hong Kong 47 case was an unofficial election primary in July 2020, through which the city’s opposition camp hoped to identify candidates to maximise their chance of winning a majority control of the legislature in an upcoming poll.
The judges ruled that if the defendants achieved a majority, that they intended to abuse their powers to indiscriminately veto the government budget and force the chief executive to resign.
Including Wu, 45 defendants were convicted, with legal scholar Benny Tai receiving a 10-year jail term – the longest in the case. Two were acquitted.
Wu’s former colleague at the Democratic Party and legislature, Andrew Wan, is expected to be released on Saturday, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
