A court in Chinese territory Macau sentenced ex-lawmaker and democracy campaigner Au Kam San to 12 years and six months in prison on Friday for subversion and other offences. Au, 69, is the first person convicted under national security laws widened in 2023 in Macau, the former Portuguese colony and casino hub which reverted to China in 1999. He co-organised annual vigils for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, something previously tolerated only in Macau and neighbouring Hong Kong.
Au, detained in July 2025 and whose closed-door trial concluded in September within three days, was found guilty of “subversion against the political power of the State” among other offences, a court statement said. Au helped “external hostile organisations in the collection, preparation, and public dissemination of various images and information that were manifestly filled with political claims of a subversive nature against the political authority of the State,” it said.
He also sought to “incite hatred among Macau residents” against China, with the intent to “overthrow and undermine the fundamental system” of the state enshrined in the Chinese constitution, it added. Macao’s government welcomed the verdict, vowing to “strictly enforce the Macao National Security Law, prevent, stop, and punish acts endangering national security.”It added in a statement that it would “ensure the steady and long-term implementation of the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle with Macao characteristics.”The European Union condemned his arrest last year, saying it only heightened concerns about the “erosion of political pluralism” in Macau.
The organisation Justice Abroad said in a statement in July that Au’s family had not been permitted to see or speak to him since shortly after he was detained. “My father dedicated more than 30 years of his life to serving the people of Macau,” his daughter Cherry was quoted as saying in the statement.”Nearly a year has passed, and we are still unable to communicate with him.” – ‘Sham trial’ – Michael Polak, director of Justice Abroad and a London barrister who said he acts as Au’s international counsel, said on Friday that the “sham trial” of the Portuguese citizen “brings shame upon Macao”.
His fate “brings Macao in line with the most repressive states around the world, where the executive has the power to imprison those with whom it disagrees, with no semblance of a proper, fair legal process,” Polak said in a separate statement. The court said on Friday that it has approved prison visits for Au’s family.”From a closed-door trial to a public sentencing, what kind of process is that?
It is a political trial,” Au’s wife Virginia Cheang Mio San wrote in an open letter on Friday.”It is baseless persecution that tramples on a person’s dignity!” she wrote. Only a handful of local media were admitted into the courtroom, with officials blaming limited seating. Au was a teacher but after the 1989 crackdown in China, he came to believe that Macau urgently needed to become an open, democratic society, and entered politics.”I admit that in the fight for democracy, we have accomplished nothing, but I believe in sowing seeds and giving them a chance to grow,” he told AFP in 2024.”Even though we are in a bitter winter, if there are changes to the external environment, these seeds in Macau may yet have a chance to sprout and forge a new path towards democracy,” he said.
Human Rights Watch’s deputy Asia director Maya Wang said Friday that the “unjust prosecution and harsh sentencing… sends a chilling message to all peaceful critics in the territory.””The authorities’ silencing of pro-democracy voices in (Macau) reflects the Chinese government’s broader assault on dissent and fundamental freedoms,” Wang said, calling for pressure from Portugal and the European Union.
On Thursday, Hong Kong democracy campaigner Joshua Wong was sentenced to 10 more years in jail under the territory’s national security law, a decision condemned by the United States and others.
Fri, 06 Nov 2026 05:43:49 GMT