Hong Kong Convicts 14 Pro-Democracy Activists

Fourteen pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong were found guilty today of trying to subvert the Chinese government; they were involved in an unauthorized primary election.

The 14 were among 47 activists who were charged three years ago. They face a maximum sentence of life in prison. Most of the 47 people have been detained since 2021 without bail. Of the 33 others, two were acquitted and 31 pled guilty.

The charge: Chinese Communist Party (ccp) prosecutors accused the activists of attempting to nominate an opposition candidate who would use legislative power to veto certain budgets. Judges overseeing the case said this would mean “the implementation of any new government policies would be seriously hampered and essentially put to a halt.”

The arrests and convictions are political and serve as evidence that the ccp will not tolerate any opposition to its authoritarianism.

Retreat: Hong Kong was handed over to China in 1997 as Britain retreated from its colonial responsibilities. The ccp promised at the time to preserve most of Hong Kong’s freedoms until at least 2047 under a model called “one country, two systems.”

But the ccp has violated those promises numerous time over the years, chipping away at the territory’s freedoms. In 2020, the ccp obliterated any remaining vestiges of Hong Kong’s freedom by enacting the National Security Law, under which the 47 were charged. This vaguely worded law allows ccp leaders to target anyone whom they view as insufficiently submitted to their ruthless dictatorship.

The law is “used as a legal wrecking ball,” said Thomas Kellogg of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law. It is being swung “at a growing number of journalists, activists and others.”

Significance: The demise of Hong Kong’s democracy is another example of the end of the Anglo-American world order and the ushering in of a new dark age that the Bible calls “the times of the Gentiles.”

Learn more: Read “The End of a Free Hong Kong.”