Former Hong Kong district councilor Ng Kin-wai said on Tuesday that he was not remorseful for participating in an alleged conspiracy to subvert state power by controlling the 2020 Legislative Council election, according to local media.

Ng claimed that he participated in the alleged conspiracy without being aware of its illegality and only discovered the illegality upon his arrest in January 2021. Ng said he believed the “Five Demands Not One Less” demand of protesters in 2019 was legal and reasonable, and acknowledged that his sentence may be commuted by a significantly shorter duration due to his lack of remorse and late plea. He also said he would bear full responsibility for his past conduct.

Ng is one of 47 pro-democracy activists who were charged with conspiring to commit subversion under Article 22(3) of the China-imposed National Security Law over their roles in subverting state power to gain a controlling majority in the 2020 Legislative Council election and force then-Chief Executive Carrie Lam to resign under Article 52 of the Basic Law. Thirty-one pro-democracy activists, including Tam Tak-chi, pleaded guilty and 16 other activists denied the charges.

In May, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance convicted 14 of 16 democracy activists on their subversion charges. The prosecution stated that the defendants agreed to veto government budgets if they obtained a majority in the 2020 Legislative Council election to force Lam to address the “Five Demands Not One Less” demand, which included demands such as repealing the now-withdrawn extradition bill and for Lam to resign as Chief Executive. The prosecution also said that the defendants continued to pursue their agreement although it became unlawful upon the promulgation of the China-imposed National Security Law on June 30, 2020. On the other hand, the court acquitted Lau Wai-chung and Lee Yue-shun, finding that it was unclear if they intended to subvert state power. The court stated that Lau did not advocate for the budgets to be vetoed and that it was unclear if Lee was a party to the agreement.

Ng is the first in the alleged conspiracy case to represent himself in mitigation.