Gordon Ng is a Hong Kong-Australian pro-democracy activist, mostly known by his pseudonym "Lee Bak Lou (李伯驢)," a Cantonese phonetic translation of "liberal." [1] [2] Wong was among the "Hong Kong 47" who were charged with violating the National Security Law as organizers or participants of the pro-democracy camp primaries in July 2020. He was the only defendant among the five accused organizers to plead not guilty and was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months in jail on Nov. 19, 2024.

Ng was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Australia with his family when he was 13. He returned to Hong Kong in 2008 and had been working in investment companies until 2016 when he joined the strategic electoral campaign ThunderGo (雷動計劃), led by Benny Tai, which aimed to maximize the number of pan-democrat candidates elected to the legislature, as a volunteer. In 2020, while promoting for the primary, Ng initiated the “Say No to Primary Dodgers (三投三不投)" petition campaign, which urged people to follow the primary election results and not vote for candidates who did not take part in the primary. [3]

Ng was arrested on Jan. 6, 2021, alongside 54 other pro-democracy activists, for allegedly violating the National Security Law due to his involvement in the primary election. [4] He was released on bail the following day, but was re-arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion on Feb. 28, 2021. [5] Ng filed multiple bail applications in the first two years in jail and defended himself without a lawyer, but they were rejected and ultimately turned down by the High Court on Sep. 14, 2022. [6] [7] [8] According to the Australian Government and local media, Australian officials were repeatedly refused consular access to him. [9] [10]

Ng was the only defendant among the five accused organizers to plead not guilty, which carries the maximum penalty of life imprisonment for "principal offender." Through outside assistance, he shared on social media of his reasons: "Do I think I have committed a crime? I don't, I absolutely don't ... I am ready to face the largest battle of my life in the battlefield of court. I fear, but I don't retreat." [11] He was convicted on May 30, 2024. [12] The court categorized him as an active participant and ultimately sentenced him to 7 years and 3 months in prison. [13]