Chief Executive John Lee on Thursday said the court ruling on a national security trial confirmed there was a conspiracy to commit subversion, which also showed the seriousness of the case.

In a statement, Lee said the judgement handed down by a three-judge panel showed there was a conspiracy to subvert state power and to destroy and overthrow the existing political system and structure established under the Basic Law and the principle of One Country, Two Systems.

He said the convictions of 45 of the 47 defendants showed the scale and severity of the plot.

Of the 16 who pleaded not guilty, 14 were convicted of conspiring to commit subversion and two were acquitted. Thirty-one others pleaded guilty earlier.

Lee noted that the Department of Justice had indicated its intention to appeal against the acquittals.

He also said the SAR is duty-bound to safeguard national security, and is determined to fight any acts that compromise this.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the subversion saga had harmed Hong Kong.

"There is no winner out of this case. This is a very sad story that some Hong Kong people tried to conduct subversion of Hong Kong. I think it is good that we were able to interdict the plot so that the Hong Kong citizens will not suffer and Hong Kong will now resume to a normal state," he told reporters.