Macau has handed down a significant sentence to a prominent former lawmaker and pro-democracy activist, marking the first time the city has used its national security legislation to imprison a citizen. Au Kam San, 69, was convicted on Friday and ordered to serve 12 years and six months in prison. The verdict follows a closed-door trial where he was found guilty of subversion against the political power of the state, among other offences.
The conviction of Au, a former primary school teacher, represents a major shift in the city's legal landscape. Macau returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999, ending more than four centuries of Portuguese rule. While a national security law was established in 2009 to criminalize acts such as treason and secession, the statute was significantly broadened in 2023 to cover non-violent acts of secession. Further amendments this year permitted trials to be conducted behind closed doors, a procedural change that was applied to Au's case.
Prosecutors argued that Au had collaborated with external hostile organizations over an extended period. They claimed he collected and disseminated information that was manifestly filled with political claims of a subversive nature against the state. Following his arrest in July 2025, Au faced seven charges, including three counts of subverting state power, three counts of endangering national security through contact with foreign bodies, and one count of breaching confidentiality. He was found guilty on four of these counts.
The trial, which concluded in September, lasted three days. A judge ordered the proceedings to be held in private to ensure that the interests of national security were not prejudiced. Macau authorities did not publicly disclose the specific details of the case, leaving the public to rely on statements from the defendant's family. Au's relatives previously informed the media that he was not permitted to choose his own legal counsel and was instead assigned a lawyer by the court.
Virginia Cheang, Au's wife, strongly criticized the outcome of the trial. She described the case as a groundless persecution designed to humiliate her husband. In an open letter released on Friday, Cheang expressed her hope that authorities would allow her and their family to maintain regular contact with Au through visits and correspondence in prison. She noted that she dared not hope for more, fearing that greater expectations would only lead to disappointment.
Au served in Macau's Legislative Assembly for two decades after being elected in September 2001. During his tenure, he was one of a small group of pro-democracy lawmakers in a body predominantly composed of pro-Beijing loyalists. He was well known for co-organizing annual vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing. 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 of Au occurs at a pivotal moment for the region's activist movements. His imprisonment comes just one day after Hong Kong sentenced Joshua Wong, a leading figure in the city's now-quashed democracy movement, to a ten-year jail term. Wong, 30, has been in custody for the past six years, having begun his activism as a teenager. The back-to-back rulings underscore the increasing application of national security laws across China's special administrative regions.
The case highlights the evolving scope of Macau's legal framework and its impact on long-standing political figures. With the law now allowing for closed-door trials and broader definitions of subversion, the decision to jail Au sets a precedent for future cases. The family's request for regular prison visits suggests that maintaining communication with the detainee will remain a key concern as he begins his sentence.
