Hong Kong's District Court on Sept. 10 jailed two men for 36 and 38 months for conspiracy to commit secession under the national security law, over their part in a group promoting Hong Kong independence. The pair, charged over their involvement in the group, whose Chinese name 香港民主建國聯盟 translates as the Hong Kong Democratic Nation-Building League, had pleaded guilty in early July, CNA reported.
The defendants, whom CNA identified from Hong Kong media reports as 陳泰森, 27, and 伍始東, 25, were accused of being members of the league and of promoting Hong Kong independence. Between November 2024 and July 2025, they allegedly produced party emblems and publicity materials and drafted proposals to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong officials.
At earlier hearings, the men's defence lawyers told the court that both have autism, having begun treatment or received a diagnosis when young. The judge questioned that argument, saying anyone would say something was wrong with them after being arrested.
The case facts showed that the league was founded on a social media platform on Nov. 6, 2024, by 姜嘉偉, who is wanted by the Hong Kong government, and that its positions include "Liberate Hong Kong" and "destroy the Communists." Late in 2025, Hong Kong's Security Bureau banned the league and a second overseas-founded group, the Hong Kong Parliament, from operating in the city, saying both aimed to subvert state power, with goals including promoting Hong Kong "self-determination." Online information describes the Hong Kong Parliament as a self-governing body formed in Canada by exiled Hongkongers.
Hong Kong police arrested four members of the league in July 2025 on suspicion of breaching the national security law. One of them, a male student, has already pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 42 months in prison, CNA reported.
