HONG KONG (AP) – Three prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists were jailed Wednesday for protesting outside police headquarters as authorities took action in protest of Beijing’s tightening of control over the region.
Activists – Joshua Wong, Agnes Chou and Evan Lum – are among more than 10,000 people arrested since June 2019 on charges related to opposition to the proposed extradition law, which has been expanded to include demands for more democracy.
Beijing responded by calling for the imposition of a national security law to curb dissent, which drew more people to protest.
Wong, 24, is known abroad for his role as the student leader of the 2014 “Umbrella Revolution” in Hong Kong. On June 21, 2019, he was sentenced to 13/2 months in prison after pleading guilty to organizing and participating in a demonstration outside the Hong Kong Police Headquarters on the use of unplanned bills and police force against protesters.
Chou was sentenced by West Cologne Magistrate’s Court to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to participating in and inciting other protesters. Lama pleaded guilty to incitement and was sentenced to 7 months.
The bombings sparked allegations that Beijing was violating the independence it had promised on its return to China in 1997. The ruling Communist Party undermines Hong Kong’s appeal as a global business hub and one of the most dynamic cities in Asia.
Other pro-democracy activists, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai, have also been arrested under security laws.
The final British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, criticized the sentence in a statement, saying it was “another terrible example of China’s determination to put Hong Kong in the hands of the United States.”
Maria Adebahre, a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry, told reporters in Berlin that the sentences “are the second building block in a series of worrying developments seen in Hong Kong over the past year linked to human and civil rights.”
The trio must be released “immediately and unconditionally,” Amnesty International said.
Yamini Mishra, the group’s regional director for Asia-Pacific, said the government had again used politically motivated charges of “inciting others to protest” to act peacefully and take action against protesters.
“By targeting well-known activists of Hong Kong’s massive leaderless protest movement, the authorities are sending a warning to anyone whose government would dare to criticize that they may be ahead.”
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The report was co-authored by Kirsten Grischeber, an Associated Press writer in Berlin.
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