Macau jails former lawmaker for 12 years in first use of national security law

A 69-year-old former primary school teacher and Macau lawmaker will spend the next 12 years and six months behind bars. This is the first time the city has imprisoned a citizen under its national security legislation. Au Kam San was convicted on Friday for subverting the state's political power and other offenses.

The verdict changes the daily reality for Macau's political opposition. For decades, the territory maintained a distinct legal identity after returning to Chinese sovereignty in 1999. That identity is now constrained by statutes that were expanded in 2023 to include non-violent acts of secession. This year, further amendments allowed judges to hold trials behind closed doors to protect national security interests. These procedural changes were applied directly to Au's case.

Prosecutors argued that Au collaborated with hostile external organizations for a long period. They claimed he gathered and spread information containing subversive political claims against the state. Following his arrest in July 2025, he faced seven charges. These included three counts of subverting state power, three counts of endangering national security through foreign contact, and one count of breaching confidentiality. The court found him guilty on four of these counts.

The trial concluded in September after three days of proceedings. A judge ordered the hearings to be private to ensure the case did not prejudice national security interests. Macau authorities did not release specific details of the evidence or the arguments heard in court. The public has had to rely on statements from Au's family to understand the process. His relatives stated that he was not permitted to select his own legal counsel and was instead assigned a lawyer by the court.

Virginia Cheang, Au's wife, criticized the outcome in an open letter released on Friday. She described the case as groundless persecution intended to humiliate her husband. Cheang asked authorities to allow her and their family to maintain regular contact with Au through visits and letters. She noted that she dared not hope for more, fearing that higher expectations would only lead to disappointment.

Au served in Macau's Legislative Assembly for 20 years after his election in September 2001. He was one of a small group of pro-democracy lawmakers in a body dominated by pro-Beijing loyalists. He was known for co-organizing annual vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. These gatherings were historically tolerated in Macau and Hong Kong but have largely been banned since China implemented a sweeping national security law in Hong Kong in 2020.

The sentencing arrives one day after Hong Kong sentenced Joshua Wong to a ten-year jail term. Wong, 30, has been in custody for six years and began his activism as a teenager. The back-to-back rulings show how national security laws are being applied across China's special administrative regions. The decision to jail Au sets a precedent for future cases under the expanded legal framework.

The family's request for regular prison visits suggests that maintaining communication with the detainee will remain a key concern. Au begins his sentence now that the verdict has been delivered. The legal framework in Macau now allows for closed-door trials and broader definitions of subversion, shaping the path for other political figures in the territory.