Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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English
Photo Credit: inmediahk/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
AFTER MANY MONTHS of waiting, the sentencing of the “Hong Kong 47” was announced yesterday. As was not surprising, a number of lengthy sentences were announced. This was the first mass sentencing under the Hong Kong National Security Law, which was passed in 2020, as the largest national security trial held to date in Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong 47 consists of lawyers, academics, journalists, and activists. Among these are Benny Tai, the legal scholar who was one of the leaders of Occupy Central with Love and Peace, Scholarism and Demosisto convenor Joshua Wong, likely Hong Kong’s most prominent youth activist, journalist Gwyneth Ho, who live-streamed the 2019 protests as a reporter for Stand News, leftist politician “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, and others.
Combined, the sentences add up to more than 200 years. Tai received the heaviest sentence, with ten years in jail. This occurred with the claim that Tai was the mastermind of a dangerous plot to destabilize Hong Kong.
Andrew Chiu, an activist, received a reduced sentence of seven years and six months for testifying against the other defendants. This was a 50% reduction in terms of his sentence.
Joshua Wong’s words after being sentenced, shouting that he loved Hong Kong, have been widely posted on social media since the sentencing. Likewise, a statement by Ho, who refused to plead guilty, has also been circulated online.
Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai is still set to be put on trial. The trial will take place today. Lai is set to speak in his defense, making public remarks for the first time in four years.
Some of the Hong Kong 47 have already served part of their sentences while awaiting trial, seeing as the defendants were held for three years after their arrests before being put on trial. The shortest sentence is four years and two months. Tai’s term will end in 2032.
Photo credit: Studio Incendo/Flickr/CC BY 2.0
China’s efforts to target pro-democracy activists continue, then. The trial of the Hong Kong 47 was clearly intended to have a chilling effect on political freedoms in Hong Kong, as well as among other activists. In particular, the specific composition of the Hong Kong 47 in drawing from individuals with a variety of backgrounds, was likely calculated to create fear, and make residents in Hong Kong feel that anyone could be targeted.
The Hong Kong 47 were put on trial for organizing a referendum to decide the political candidates of the pro-democracy camp. This has been framed by Beijing as an effort at separatism and dangerous to national security. This was despite the fact that such referendums had been held many times in the past by the pro-democracy camp. Nevertheless, the reason as to why Beijing would seek to put them on trial was largely their pro-democracy activism, rather than just the referendum.
Indeed, that activists were put on trial and jailed on the auspices of what were fundamentally election primaries reflects the extent to which electoral democracy has deteriorated in Hong Kong. While pro-democracy politicians once constituted a viable political wing in Hong Kong politics, in the past decade, politicians were first prevented from running for office, on the grounds of advocating for separatism. Politicians later were removed from office on the grounds of various pretexts and have come to be put on trial. Electoral reforms later introduced by the Hong Kong government effectively prevent all but pre-approved candidates from running, and remove seats from direct election. In this sense, the Hong Kong government’s actions in sentencing the Hong Kong 47 acts not only to decimate the political opposition but also as a means of silencing any electoral challenges to the rule of the pro-Beijing camp.
It is to be seen what international response follows from the sentencing. Although criticisms of China on human rights grounds are expected from Western countries, there have been a number of questions raised about what stance the incoming Trump administration will take on Hong Kong. Trump has claimed that he will see to Jimmy Lai’s release from prison, but at other times has evidenced admiration for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
As for Taiwan, reactions to events in Hong Kong have notably grown more muted in past years, with Hong Kong seemingly regarded as having become simply another part of China. Support for Hong Kong activists, including measures for asylum seekers, has sometimes also seen pushback in recent years with the claim that they could allow Chinese spies to enter Taiwan by posing as Hongkongers, and barriers for Hongkongers to obtain residency have sometimes become steeper. It is also to be seen whether there will be any show of support from Taiwan, then, even if one can expect organizing from Hong Kong diaspora in Taiwan and their allies.