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Hong Kong (dpa) - In Hong Kong, in the largest trial to date for alleged violations of the new security law, all 47 accused opposition supporters have to remain in custody for the time being.
After a four-day marathon hearing, a Hong Kong court granted 15 of the defendants bail on Thursday.
However, the judicial authority immediately appealed, which is why they will not be released for the time being.
The other accused will therefore have to remain in custody until May 31 if the trial is to continue.
Four of the 47 accused, including the well-known democracy fighter Joshua Wong, have been held in prison for months on charges of other alleged offenses.
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The suspects, who include both pro-democracy politicians and activists, were arrested and charged on Sunday on charges of conspiracy to endanger the state.
Hundreds of demonstrators had demonstrated in front of the court over and over again in the past few days.
The charges relate to unofficial primaries held by opposition forces last July ahead of the Hong Kong general election, which was later canceled due to the pandemic.
The primaries, in which the most promising candidates were to be determined in order to win a majority in the Hong Kong parliament, were criticized by the government, which spoke of "vicious plans to overthrow".
The opposition had set itself the goal of blocking the work of the government with a majority in parliament and thus forcing Prime Minister Carrie Lam to resign.
This, the prosecutors argued, was a violation of Hong Kong's new security law.
The indictment had sparked outrage in many Western countries.
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Beijing is now planning further measures to extend control over its Special Administrative Region.
A reform of the electoral system planned in Hong Kong was described by the state media as a "highlight" of this year's People's Congress, which begins this Friday.
The aim of the reform is to ensure that Hong Kong is "governed only by patriots".
The party-affiliated newspaper "Global Times" outlined a plan according to which the influence of pro-democratic forces would be further massively curtailed.
The newspaper spoke of “loopholes” in the electoral system that should be closed.
According to this, a body controlled by Beijing could first check all candidates who stand for an election in Hong Kong for their political views, in order to ensure that they are "patriots".
The paper also suggested that the election committee that elects the Hong Kong head of government could be reorganized.
The committee, which has 1200 members, is already predominantly made up of representatives of professional and business associations loyal to Beijing.
According to the plans outlined, the 117 district councils of Hong Kong that have been represented so far and belong to the democratic camp could also be removed from the committee.
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The controversial security law came into force at the end of June in response to the demonstrations in Hong Kong that had been going on for a year and met with sharp international criticism.
It is directed against activities that Beijing sees as subversive, separatist, terrorist or conspiratorial.
Several well-known activists have been sentenced to prison terms for relatively minor offenses in the past few months.
A number of Hong Kong activists recently fled to other countries out of fear of prosecution under the new Hong Kong State Security Act.
Hong Kong has been part of China again since July 1, 1997, but is governed according to the principle of “one country, two systems”.
This agreement actually provides for Hong Kongers to enjoy “a high degree of autonomy” and many freedoms for 50 years until 2047.
However, since the Security Act was passed, many have only talked about “one country, one system”.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210304-99-688119 / 2