A leading Macau democrat, former lawmaker Au Kam San, was jailed for 12 and a half years on Friday for subversion, in the China-ruled gambling hub’s first known national security trial.
Au, 69, was arrested in July 2025 for collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security and was tried behind closed doors on Sept 16 and 18. He served nearly two decades as a lawmaker in the former Portuguese colony and is one of its most prominent democratic campaigners.
Macau’s Court of First Instance found him guilty of subversion of state power, establishing links with foreign groups or individuals to carry out acts endangering national security, and violation of secrecy. It acquitted him on two other counts of subversion due to insufficient evidence.
The court said that although Au was a first-time offender and had admitted to a significant part of the acts, his degree of intent was extremely high and the unlawfulness and potential consequences of his conduct were exceptionally grave. The applicable range for his combined sentence was between 11 years and three months and 19 years and six months.
Human Rights Watch said the proceedings were marred by violations of due process and that the sentence sent a chilling message to peaceful critics in the territory.
The sentencing came a day after Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was jailed for 10 years for collusion with foreign entities under Hong Kong’s national security law. Macau returned from Portuguese to Chinese rule in 1999, two years after Hong Kong was handed back to China.