Lord Patten of Barnes: the Hong Kong trio’s imprisonment is a “grim example of China’s determination to put Hong Kong in handcuffs”.

On 2 December 2020, multiple British Parliamentarians and Hong Kong Watch condemned the imprisonment of Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow. Lord Patten of Barnes, the last British Governor of Hong Kong and a patron of Hong Kong Watch, said it was a “grim example of China’s determination to put Hong Kong in handcuffs”.

Facing charges of ‘incitement to knowingly take part in an unauthorised assembly’, as well as ‘organising an authorised assembly’, and ‘knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly’, Wong, Lam and Chow were sentenced to 13.5 months, 7 months and 10 months respectively.

Commenting on their arrests, Lord Patten of Barnes said:

"The imprisonment today of Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow - all of them campaigners for the rule of law and democracy in Hong Kong - is another grim example of China's determination to put Hong Kong in handcuffs. 

I hope the rest of the world will follow the example of the 155 Parliamentarians from 18 countries who yesterday issued an open letter to Carrie Lam, and unite to show solidarity with Hong Kong's people."

He was joined by the Liberal Democrat Foreign Policy Spokesperson, Layla Moran MP, who said:

"We stand in solidarity with Nathan Law and other activists in exile, and call for the immediate release of Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. The imprisonment of these courageous young democrats is a total miscarriage of justice. The time has come for coordinated international sanctions."

Lord Alton of Liverpool, a patron of Hong Kong Watch, also commented that:

“I have had the privilege of meeting Joshua Wong several times, in Westminster and in Hong Kong, and have long admired the courageous activism of Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam. These three outstandingly brave young activists deserve to be honoured, supported and applauded, not imprisoned. Their totally unjust sentencing today is an example of the outrageous authoritarianism which the Chinese Communist Party regime has imposed on Hong Kong and it requires a robust response from the international community. The time has come for more than words – it is time for targeted sanctions against the regime in Beijing and its proxies in the Hong Kong government who have destroyed Hong Kong’s liberties and autonomy and trampled on promises made in an international treaty.”

The length of sentencing applied to Wong, Lam and Chow for their involvement in organising a peaceful assembly sets a new precedent for the length of prison sentence applied to unlawful assembly charges.

Commenting on this, Johnny Patterson, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch, said:

“The precedent set by applying such lengthy sentencing to unlawful assembly charges is enormously alarming. Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers marched in protests which were technically proscribed by police under legislation which has been criticised by the UN human rights council for not being in compliance with international rights standards. This type of punitive sentencing is clearly in breach of the fundamental right to peaceful assembly.”

Hong Kong Watch Chief Executive Officer, Benedict Rogers added:

“The imprisonment of Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam is truly an outrage and a grave injustice. I have had the privilege of meeting Joshua and Agnes several times. It was Joshua’s first imprisonment three years ago that inspired me to mobilise a global campaign and sparked the idea to establish Hong Kong Watch. The Chinese Communist Party regime can imprison these three courageous young people physically, but they can never imprison their hearts and minds, or their ideas, vision and values. It is now up to those of us who enjoy freedom to use our liberties to continue the fight, both for the release of Joshua, Agnes and Ivan and all political prisoners in Hong Kong, and for the freedom of Hong Kong itself. We in Hong Kong Watch will redouble our efforts to mobilise the world in this cause.”

For further comment or enquiries, please contact johnny@hongkongwatch.org