Seven Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Leaders are Convicted Under New China Law and Face Up to Five Years in Prison

Seven leaders in the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong were convicted earlier today for supporting democracy in the tiny country.  Another two protesters had previously pleaded guilty.

Below is the list of individuals:

Jimmy Lai, guilty.
Martin Lee, guilty.
Ho Chun Yan, guilty.
Margaret Ng, guilty.
Cyd Ho, guilty.
“Long Hair” Leung Kwok Hung, guilty.
Leung Yiu Chung, guilty.
Au Nok Hin, guilty.
Lee Cheuk Yan, guilty.

Peaceful protest is not a crime.
Demanding democracy is not a crime. pic.twitter.com/0K4p6LQzVO

— HKDC – Hong Kong Democracy Council (@hkdc_us) April 1, 2021

According to the AP:

Seven of Hong Kong’s leading pro-democracy advocates, including a media tycoon and an 82-year-old veteran of the movement, were convicted Thursday for organizing and participating in a march during massive anti-government protests in 2019 that triggered a crackdown on dissent.

The verdict was the latest blow to the flagging democracy movement as the governments in Hong Kong and Beijing tighten the screws in their efforts to exert greater control over the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Hong Kong had enjoyed a vibrant political culture and freedoms not seen elsewhere in China during the decades it was a British colony. Beijing had pledged to allow the city to retain those freedoms for 50 years when it took the territory back in 1997, but recently it has ushered in a series of measures that many fear are a step closer to making Hong Kong no different from cities on the mainland.

Jimmy Lai, the owner of the outspoken Apple Daily tabloid; Martin Lee, the octogenarian founder of the city’s Democratic Party; and five former pro-democracy lawmakers were found guilty in a ruling handed down by a district judge. They face up to five years in prison. Two other former lawmakers charged in the same case had pleaded guilty earlier.

At one point in recent years, Hong Kong had been named the freest country in the world.  This is no longer the case as China is clamping down on any protests against its moves in taking over the tiny country.

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