Hong Kong activist Andrew Chiu has said in a televised interview that he is deeply remorseful for his past activism. In October, he became the first person to be granted early release from prison among those convicted in the landmark subversion case against 47 opposition figures.
Hong Kong activist Andrew Chiu said he was remorseful over his past political activism in a TVB interview aired on December 15, 2025. Photo: Screenshot, via TVB.Chiu was a former pro-democracy district councillor among 45 convicted and jailed last year for conspiracy to commit subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
The case revolved around an unofficial primary in July 2020, designed to maximise the chances of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp winning a majority in the Legislative Council, after the city saw large-scale protests and unrest the year before.
The pro-democracy camp had threatened to veto the government’s budget if they won a legislative majority, in order to achieve their political demands. A court ruled that the scheme could have resulted in a “constitutional crisis.”
‘Had no option’In a televised interview aired on Monday, Chiu claimed the plan was controlled by people with “ulterior motives.”
“From the anti-extradition bill crisis, to the riots, to the unofficial polls, you can see a pattern that people with ulterior motives had been manipulating behind the scenes,” Chiu said in the Cantonese TVB interview.
“I would like to apologise to the country, to Hong Kong, and to the public for having impacted the constitutional order of Hong Kong and the country,” he said.
A corrections vehicle pulls into West Kowloon Law Courts Building on July 5, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.Asked why he did not pull himself out of the scheme, Chiu said he “had no option but to maintain a sense of unity in the political camp.”
Chiu, one of the organisers of the unofficial polls, testified against his co-defendants during a trial in exchange for more lenient sentencing. He was jailed for seven years in November 2024.
“The [Andrew] Chiu of now hates the Chiu of then for not opting out,” he added.
‘A role model’In October, the 40-year-old became the first person in the case to receive a sentence reduction for good conduct in jail and was granted early release, after time already served before sentencing was accounted for.
His early release came as a surprise after Hong Kong passed the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance – known locally as Article 23. It imposed a harsher threshold for national security offenders to receive a sentence remission.
In the TVB interview, Chiu said he had wanted to become a prosecution witness in the early stages after he was remanded in custody in February 2021.
Andrew Chiu. File photo: Andrew Chiu, via Facebook.After his conviction, he “immediately read books about national development” as well as China’s policy document and President Xi Jinping’s speeches, he said.
“I hope I can become a role model, especially for young people jailed for national security offences,” he added.
Chiu also said he would describe himself as a “moderate conservative” now, and he would not be engaging in politics in the foreseeable future.
“My principle for the future is that, if something does not 100 per cent abide by the law and regulations, then I will never ‘play edge ball’ or ‘cheat.’ When something feels problematic, then one must pull himself out of it,” he said.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
13 in the subversion case have been released following the completion of jail terms, with 32 still serving time behind bars.
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