Hong Kong sentences democracy activists to prison over peaceful protest
RIP Hong Kong.
A Hong Kong court on Friday sentenced veteran pro-democracy leaders to between eight and 18 months in prison, and gave others suspended sentences, on charges of unauthorized assembly stemming from the 2019 protests against China's tightening control of the city.
The penalties handed to the nine defendants, following guilty verdicts earlier this month, marked a new low for the viability of democratic opposition in Hong Kong as Beijing remodels the city into one that resembles any other on the Chinese mainland.
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, already jailed and denied bail over separate national security charges, was sentenced to 14 months prison for his role in two protests. Lai, who Chinese state media describes as a “traitor,” is facing several criminal prosecutions, four of which were heard in court on Friday. At one of these hearings, the authorities handed him an additional charge under the national security law — punishable by life in prison.
Four of the defendants — including lawyers and former lawmakers Martin Lee, 82, Margaret Ng, 73, and Albert Ho, 69 — received suspended sentences, with the judge citing their age and contributions to society. This means that they do not need to go to prison immediately, but could be jailed upon any minor infraction.
In other words, the CCP has them by the short and curlies.