In a chilling verdict that marks a new authoritarian low for Hong Kong, 45 pro-democracy activists have been jailed under the city’s draconian national security law imposed by Beijing. The mass sentencing, stemming from the activists’ participation in an unofficial primary designed to boost their chances in local elections, effectively decapitates Hong Kong’s once vibrant pro-democracy movement.
From Peaceful Primaries to “Subversion”
The jail terms handed down on Tuesday relate to charges of conspiracy to commit subversion against the state, leveled against the activists in 2020. Their alleged crime? Taking part in a peaceful primary process aimed at fielding the strongest pro-democracy candidates in Hong Kong’s legislative council elections.
Authorities argued this amounted to a sinister plot to paralyze the government, providing a convenient pretext to wipe out the pro-democracy opposition. The defendants, who had already languished in detention for over three years, include prominent figures from academia, social work, and activism.
Claudia Mo: From Lawmaker to Prisoner
Among those sentenced was Claudia Mo, a former lawmaker and high-profile figure in mainstream Hong Kong politics. Mo received a four-year prison term for her role in the primary process. Her case underscores how even establishment politicians have been swept up in the crackdown.
Benny Tai’s 10-Year Sentence
The harshest sentence—a staggering 10 years—was reserved for Benny Tai, a law professor and well-known activist cast by prosecutors as the mastermind behind the supposed subversion plot. Tai’s heavy sentence sends an unambiguous warning to anyone daring to challenge Beijing’s authority in the city.
Broken Promises and Shattered Freedoms
The trial’s conclusion painfully highlights how far Hong Kong has strayed from the autonomy and civil liberties it was supposedly guaranteed for 50 years under the “one country, two systems” principle that governed its 1997 handover from British to Chinese rule.
While repression has intensified for years on the Chinese mainland under President Xi Jinping, Hong Kong has experienced a dizzying erosion of rights and freedoms at breathtaking pace. The jailing of speech therapists in 2022 for publishing “seditious” children’s books exemplified the lengths authorities now go to quash dissent, even beyond the political sphere.
Britain’s Responsibility
As co-signatory to the handover treaty that enshrined Hong Kong’s now-jeopardized freedoms, Britain has a unique duty to shine a global spotlight on the city’s plight. To his credit, Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the UK Labour Party, raised the case of jailed activist and businessman Jimmy Lai in a meeting this week with President Xi.
However, as more activists face prosecution and Hong Kong’s civil society buckles under the weight of repressive laws, the international community must do more to condemn the ongoing assault on the city’s rights and freedoms. Tuesday’s verdict should spur outrage and action, not resignation to a grim “new normal” of injustice.
The crackdown on Hong Kong’s freedoms under the national security law marks a fundamental betrayal of promises made to the city’s people. Beijing is strangling a vibrant civil society before the world’s eyes.
– A Hong Kong legal expert, speaking on condition of anonymity
The Path Forward
As Hong Kong’s jails fill with political prisoners and formerly outspoken activists fall silent, it falls to the international community to be the city’s voice. Concerted diplomatic pressure, targeted sanctions, and unflinching advocacy for prisoners of conscience like Jimmy Lai must be mobilized to impose costs on Beijing for its repression.
The alternative—acceptance of Hong Kong’s rapid descent into authoritarianism as a fait accompli—would constitute a profound moral and strategic failure. Abandoning a city that for decades shone as a beacon of openness and the rule of law would only embolden the CCP’s worst instincts, vindicating its model of ironclad control.
The jailing of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists marks a dark chapter in the city’s modern history. But through unified, principled action by democratic nations, a flicker of hope could yet persist even in this bleak hour. The values Hong Kong’s prisoners of conscience sacrificed their freedom to defend must not be left to perish behind bars.
