A court in the Chinese territory of Macau has sentenced former lawmaker and democracy campaigner Au Kam-san to 12 years and six months in prison for subversion and other offences.
Au, 69, is the first person convicted under national security laws expanded in 2023 in the former Portuguese colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1999.
He co-organised annual vigils for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, gatherings previously tolerated only in Macau and neighbouring Hong Kong.
Detained in July 2025, Au was found guilty of “subversion against the political power of the State” following a closed-door trial that concluded in September. A court statement said he had helped “external hostile organisations” collect and publicly disseminate material containing political claims against the state.
The court also accused him of seeking to “incite hatred among Macau residents” against China and undermine the political system enshrined in the Chinese constitution.
Family questions trial process
Macau’s government welcomed the verdict, pledging to “strictly enforce the Macao National Security Law” and ensure the long-term implementation of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle.
Justice Abroad said in July that Au’s family had been unable to see or speak to him since shortly after his detention. His daughter, Cherry, said her father had dedicated more than 30 years to serving Macau’s people.
The court said on Friday that it had approved prison visits for Au’s family. But his wife, Virginia Cheang Mio San, questioned the process in an open letter, describing it as a political trial and “baseless persecution”.
Only a handful of local media outlets were admitted to the courtroom, with officials citing limited seating.
Rights groups condemn sentence
The European Union condemned Au’s arrest last year, saying it heightened concerns over the “erosion of political pluralism” in the territory.
Michael Polak, Justice Abroad’s director and a London barrister who said he acts as Au’s international counsel, condemned the proceedings as a “sham trial” that “brings shame upon Macau”.
Au, a former teacher, entered politics after the 1989 crackdown, believing Macau needed to become a more open and democratic society. In an interview with AFP in 2024, he said that although the democracy movement had achieved little, he believed in “sowing seeds” for future change.
The sentence came a day after Hong Kong democracy campaigner Joshua Wong received an additional 10-year prison term under the territory’s national security law, a decision condemned by the United States and others.
