Macao Ex-Lawmaker Au Kam-san Jailed 12.5 Years for National Security Offenses

A Macao court has sentenced pro-democracy ex-politician Au Kam-san to 12 years and six months in prison following a closed-door national security trial. The verdict, delivered on Friday, found the 69-year-old former primary school teacher and legislator guilty of subverting state power. The court stated that Au spread false information between 2023 and 2024 with the intent to disrupt Macao’s 2024 leadership election.

In its statement, the court also indicated that Au collaborated with “hostile organisations” abroad to advance a political agenda and leaked confidential information to overseas groups. The statement noted, “Although the defendant is a first-time offender and admitted to a considerable portion of the criminal facts, he demonstrated a high degree of intent. The degree of unlawfulness and the potential consequences of his crimes are both very serious.”

Au’s wife, Virginia Cheang, publicly described the trial as politically motivated and a “groundless” persecution, questioning the process from a closed-door trial to a public verdict. Au’s arrest last year marked the first prosecution under Macao’s 2009 security law. He served as a legislator in the Beijing-dominated assembly for two decades before resigning in 2021. He was also involved in organizing Macao’s commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Maya Wang, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, commented that the sentence sends a chilling message to peaceful critics and urged the European Union and Portugal to advocate for his release. Macao’s government and China’s Hong Kong and Macao Affairs office have both endorsed the sentence. This development follows closely after Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong received an additional 10-year jail term under the city’s national security law, having been imprisoned since 2020.

Macao, a former Portuguese colony, became a special administrative region of China in 1999.