On 10 August 2026, the Court of Appeal granted a certificate allowing 11 convicted defendants in the landmark “47 Democrats” subversion case to apply for a final appeal at the Court of Final Appeal (CFA). The 11 defendants had their initial appeals against conviction and sentencing rejected by the Court of Appeal in February 2026. The 11 defendants are: Clarisse Yeung, Helena Wong, Owen Chow, Winnie Yu, Gwyneth Ho, Lam Cheuk-ting, Gordon Ng, Cheng Tat-hung, Kalvin Ho, Raymond Chan, and Leung Kwok-hung.—including Gwyneth Ho, Owen Chow, Lam Cheuk-ting, and Leung Kwok-hung.
The Court of Appeal panel (comprising Chief Judge Jeremy Poon, Justice Kevin Zervos, and Justice Maggie Poon) ruled that the five legal questions raised by the defense involve points of law of “great and general importance” that merit consideration by the city’s top court. These questions directly challenge the lower courts’ interpretation of “other unlawful means” under Article 22 of the National Security Law (NSL), specifically whether a plan by lawmakers to indiscriminately veto the government budget to force the Chief Executive’s resignation—a mechanism explicitly outlined in Articles 50 to 52 of the Basic Law—can legally constitute an act of subversion.