Joshua Wong: A Beacon Of Freedom Brought Down

The recent ten-year sentence handed down to Hong Kong's leading pro-democracy activist, Joshua Wong, on November 5 appears to be a grim echo of the past, juxtaposed against the recent US midterm election victory of President Donald Trump and the ongoing global protests against the establishment. This stark sentence pales in comparison to the 20-year sentence given to Jimmy Lai, a 78-year civil liberties champion and media mogul, whom China accuses of orchestrating the democracy movement.

Furthermore, the recent severe sentences against former employees of Lai's influential newspaper, Apple Daily, which was shut down in 2021, illustrate the tightening grip of Beijing's regime under Xi Jinping on Hong Kong, which was returned to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" agreement promising civil liberties for 50 years, until 2047.

Wong was convicted of conspiracy to lobby foreign governments, including testifying before the US Congress in 2019, to impose sanctions against China and Hong Kong in response to the 2020 National Security Law (NSL). This law, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, is a tool for Beijing to suppress opposition by criminalizing citizens' basic rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

This measure is considered inconsistent with international human rights covenants, according to Amnesty International.

Wong has been in detention for nearly six years following the infamous "trial of 47" in connection with the 2020 Legislative Council elections, when pro-democracy activists held an unofficial primary to choose candidates, leading to a high voter turnout that forced authorities to postpone the polls. The NSL is a pretext to purify the city's opposition by criminalizing legitimate exercises of freedom of expression, assembly, and association.

Despite Wong pleading guilty to the lobbying charges in the hope of receiving a reduced sentence, the recent ruling has dealt a blow to the once-vibrant democratic movement in Hong Kong. Several of Wong's fellow activists are either in exile or have pleaded guilty and been acquitted, marking a retreat for the democratic surge in the city.

Beijing has responded angrily to international criticism of the latest ruling as interference in its sovereignty, urging Western powers to lead by example rather than offering platitudes on the rule of law.