Erasing Hong Kong’s Democrats
China’s agents charge nearly the entire opposition under a sedition law.
The Editorial Board WALL STREET JOURNAL Feb. 28, 2021 5:56 pm ET
Opinion: Erasing Hong Kong’s Democrats – WSJ
Hong Kong legal scholar and democracy activist Benny Tai speaks to the press as he prepares to report to the Ma On Shan Police Station in Hong Kong on Sunday.
PHOTO: JEROME FAVRE/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Hong Kong authorities moved this weekend to imprison nearly the entire opposition movement. The message is that anyone who runs as a pro-democracy candidate will be treated as a criminal.
On Sunday Hong Kong formally charged 47 former lawmakers and dissenters with conspiring to subvert state power. At issue is their role as organizers and participants in a pro-democracy primary election last summer.
Hong Kong’s Basic Law states that “the ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage.” But Beijing’s lackey, Chief Executive Carrie Lam, warned that any attempt to gain enough seats to undermine Beijing’s legislative agenda could constitute a crime under the new national security law. The opposition held its informal primary anyway last July, and some 600,000 Hong Kongers cast votes.
Beijing is now using the primary as an excuse to take down pro-democracy leaders, young and old. Those charged this weekend range in age from 23 to 64. They include Jimmy Sham, who helped draw millions to the streets in 2019 to protest legislation allowing extradition to the mainland; former lawmakers including Claudia Mo and Alvin Yeung ; political strategist and scholar Benny Tai; union organizer Carol Ng; and several young district councillors.
Only judges approved by Beijing can hear national security cases, and under the new law the maximum sentence is life in prison. Yet in Hong Kong the punishment may now begin before a guilty verdict is even rendered.
Under Article 42 of the national security law, those charged must be denied bail unless there are “sufficient grounds” to believe they’ll abstain from future dissent. The courts have already denied bail to media tycoon Jimmy Lai, and the 73-year-old now languishes in a maximum-security prison as he awaits his verdicts. The fate of the 47 will further indicate Beijing’s appetite for pretrial detention as pre-emptive punishment.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party is fast moving to consolidate political control in Hong Kong as it plans to revise the city’s electoral system. In February China’s top official for Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, said only “patriots” should hold key posts in the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Authorities have already barred several pro-democracy leaders from holding office and are gearing up to disqualify more.
China is violating its international obligations as it tramples Hong Kong’s freedoms. So far it has paid little price, which the world may come to regret as President Xi Jinping sets his sights on Taiwan.