'The jailing of democracy activists marks a dark day for Hong Kong', Benedict Rogers
Hong Kong has sentenced dozens of democracy protestors to years in prison, in the largest trial since Beijing’s National Security Law was imposed on the city in 2020. The imprisonment of the 45 former elected legislators and pro-democracy campaigners comes just a day after Keir Starmer met Xi Jinping, telling the Chinese leader that he wants a “strong UK-China relationship”. The draconian punishments that have been dished out today are a humiliation for the Prime Minister’s attempt to build rapport with Beijing.
Among those who have been locked up are law professor Benny Tai, sentenced to ten years, journalist Gwyneth Ho, jailed for seven years, and student leader Joshua Wong, imprisoned for four years. Most of the Hong Kong 45 have already spent several years behind bars – with some of the arrests taking place on 6 January 2021, a devastating day for democracy.
Elected legislators and activists were arrested in Hong Kong for the so-called “crime” of holding a primary election to select pro-democracy candidates for what should have been Hong Kong’s legislative elections. Those elections were cancelled under the pretext of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the rules rewritten so only proven Chinese Communist Party loyalists could participate.
That same evening, rioters storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC, as vice-president Mike Pence barely escaped with his life.
I know and love both Hong Kong and Washington, DC. I have lived in both cities. I know Hong Kong’s streets and the corridors of the United States Congress intimately. They have both inspired me as beacons of freedom, openness, dynamism, and entrepreneurialism.
The flame of democracy in Washington, DC survived. The sentencing of 45 democrats in Hong Kong, however, shows that freedom in that city has been destroyed.
The irony is that the insurrectionists on Capitol Hill were attempting to commit genuine subversion, whereas those who stood for democracy in Hong Kong were charged with “subversion” for organising primary elections.
In May, a cross-party coalition of 47 parliamentarians and public figures worldwide condemned the convictions of 14 Hong Kong democrats. Now, democrats everywhere must speak out against today’s sentences with equal clarity.
Yet words alone are insufficient. The destruction of Hong Kong’s freedoms and its transformation into a repressive police state cannot go unchallenged.
Starmer should abandon his pursuit of rapport with Beijing and ensure the United Kingdom, as co-signatory to the UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration, imposes tough, targeted sanctions on officials in Beijing and Hong Kong responsible for tearing up an international treaty. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee should top the list, and the diplomatic privileges of Hong Kong’s Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in London should be reviewed. These privileges were granted when Hong Kong enjoyed freedom, the rule of law, and autonomy. Those conditions no longer exist.
The United States should renew its Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) programme for Hong Kongers in January to provide them with protection and a pathway to citizenship. Britain, which has done much through its British National Overseas (BNO) scheme, should extend this further to cover those born before 1997.
Over the past five years, Hong Kong’s freedoms have been repeatedly curtailed. Police brutality against peaceful protesters in 2019, the draconian security law in 2020, the forced closure of Apple Daily in 2021, and the passage of a second domestic security law this year have dismantled basic freedoms, created a surveillance state, and instilled a climate of fear.
Tomorrow, the protracted trial of Apple Daily founder and British citizen Jimmy Lai, 76, resumes. He has already been imprisoned for nearly four years. Britain must do everything possible to secure his release.
Today, Hong Kong’s 45 brave democrats – elected to represent their people – have been jailed for exercising democracy. Everyone who believes in democracy must stand in solidarity with them and demand their release.
This article was published in The Spectator on 19 November 2024.