Former pro-democracy councillor Ng Kin-wai freed after nearly six years in Hong Kong 47 case

Ng Kin-wai, who once served as a district councillor in Yuen Long, walked out of Shek Pik Prison on Friday after a term of five years and seven months for conspiracy to subvert state power. Early that morning, several vehicles with concealed windows left the facility, and Ng later appeared in his hometown, sharing a breakfast with a former council colleague before addressing the press. Dressed in the same grey suit he wore at a 2024 mitigation hearing, he declared that he harbored no regrets about his pro-democracy stance, calling his imprisonment a mix of sorrow, anger, and pride.

He warned that while Hong Kong’s political reality has changed, citizens must face it without simply accepting it, and he highlighted the enduring human desire for freedom and justice. Ng becomes the 22nd person convicted in the “Hong Kong 47” case to finish his jail term, with eleven others still seeking appeal before the Court of Final Appeal. The case stems from a 2020 unofficial primary election that authorities said would have triggered a constitutional crisis.