In single swoop, dozens of Hong Kong activists charged with subversion

The crackdown comes as Chinese officials prepare to unveil electoral reforms that will likely further diminish the influence of opposition forces.

|
Jessie Pang/Reuters
Pro-democracy activist Sam Cheung hugs his wife as he arrives to report to the police station over national security law charges, in Hong Kong, China Feb. 28, 2021.

Forty-seven Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners and activists were charged on Sunday with conspiracy to commit subversion in the largest single crackdown on the opposition under a China-imposed national security law.

Among them was Sam Cheung, a 27-year-old activist and a participant in an unofficial primary election last summer, who was charged after reporting to a local police station.

“Hong Kongers have a really tough time these days,” he told reporters before entering the station. “I hope everyone won’t give up on Hong Kong ... (and) fight on.”

Mr. Cheung was arrested in a dawn raid along with 54 other pro-democracy campaigners on Jan. 6 in the largest national security operation since the law passed last June.

They were accused of organizing and participating in the unofficial primary last July aimed at selecting the strongest candidates for a legislative council election.

The Hong Kong police said in a statement they had laid a charge against 47 persons with the single count. They will appear in court on Monday morning.

The decision to charge many activists in a single swoop could potentially strike hard at the opposition movement. Those charged included veterans like Leung Kwok-hung, Eddie Chu, and Alvin Yeung; former law professor Benny Tai and prominent young campaigners like Lester Shum, Joshua Wong, and Owen Chow.

The European Union Office in Hong Kong called for the immediate release of those arrested. “The nature of these charges makes clear that legitimate political pluralism will no longer be tolerated in Hong Kong,” it said in a statement.

Defiant gestures

Some who reported to police stations across the city pumped their fists and expressed defiance, flanked by supporters.

“Constant suppression would never abate our faith,” said Jimmy Sham.

Of those arrested in January, only eight were not charged on Sunday, including U.S. human rights lawyer John Clancey and veteran activist James To, who remain on bail.

The tightening legal noose on local activists comes as Chinese officials prepare to unveil electoral reforms that will likely further diminish the role and influence of opposition forces in public office.

“This is a very strong signal from President Xi (Jinping) that he wants to eradicate the whole pro-democracy camp in Hong Kong,” exiled activist Sunny Cheung, who had himself taken part in the primary election, told Reuters by phone.

“If the international community doesn’t react to the authoritarianism of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi will win and liberty and democracy will fall.”

A rights advocacy group, “Power for Democracy,” which co-organized the primary elections, said in a Facebook post it had disbanded.

The Hong Kong police say 99 individuals have been arrested for suspected violations of the security laws so far.

Some of these, including media mogul and prominent China critic Jimmy Lai, have been denied bail despite protracted legal appeals.

The sweeping national security laws punish acts of subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorism with possible life imprisonment.

China justified the laws to restore order following mass protests in 2019 against perceived Chinese suppression of Hong Kong’s basic liberties and autonomy under the “one country, two systems” arrangement. This was put in place in 1997 when the city reverted from British to Chinese rule.

This story was reported by Reuters. Additional reporting by Sharon Tam and Joyce Zhou; editing by Daniel Wallis, William Mallard and Frances Kerry.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to In single swoop, dozens of Hong Kong activists charged with subversion
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2021/0228/In-single-swoop-dozens-of-Hong-Kong-activists-charged-with-subversion
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe