Ex-Hong Kong lawmaker Eddie Chu recounts prison life in first post-release public comment

2026-01-25 - 21:07

Former Hong Kong lawmaker Eddie Chu has shared a glimpse of his life behind bars in his first public comment since completing a prison term of more than four years stemming from the city’s largest national security case. Eddie Chu. File photo: Legislative Council, via Flickr. The pro-democracy campaigner was released from prison last week, following his conviction for conspiracy to commit subversion in a high-profile national security case known as the “Hong Kong 47.” According to a Chinese-language post Chu published on Patreon on Wednesday, he is in good health after serving four years and five months in prison. “My body is OK, and my eye condition has received proper treatment,” he said. Chu was diagnosed with a retinal tear in his right eye in June 2021, roughly four months after he was first remanded in custody. “My persistent insomnia problem while in prison has significantly improved just three days after my release,” he added. The ex-legislator, known for his long-standing advocacy for Hong Kong’s rural areas, thanked his mother, wife, and daughter for visiting him over the years, which he said helped him endure his time behind bars. He also thanked “countless friends” who had written to him while he was in custody and apologised for not having replied to all of them individually. A Correctional Services Vehicle leaves West Kowloon Law Courts Building on November 19, 2024, after 45 pro-democracy figures were sentenced to up to 10 years in jail. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “In Hong Kong prison slang, receiving mail is called ‘receiving love,’ which is a very vivid description,” he wrote. “Inmates who receive letters read them over and over, and their steps become lighter. Those who receive no letter and no visit are called ‘dead volcanoes’ – calm on the surface, but their emotions are all bottled up inside.” Chu also thanked those who had taken care of him while he was in prison. “Prison is a special place. Those earning tens of millions a year and living a high life outside and those sleeping rough under footbridges struggling for three meals a day become equal once they put on the same prison uniform,” he said. “I was able to have in-depth conversations with people I had no chance to meet, and therefore I had widened my point of view within the walls.” Chu was among 45 defendants convicted and jailed over an unofficial primary election in July 2020 that aimed to help the pro-democracy camp win a majority in the legislature. He was sentenced in November 2024. In May that year, three judges ruled the group would create a “constitutional crisis” with their scheme, which planned to veto the government budget and force the chief executive to step down once the opposition camp had obtained a legislative majority. Only two defendants were acquitted. Chu is the 15th defendant in the case to be released. Legal scholar Benny Tai – who received 10 years, the longest sentence in the case – is expected to be released in 2032.