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Hong Kong legal scholar Benny Tai was sentenced to 10 years in prison by Hong Kong’s High Court last month under the national security law. Tai, a cofounder of the Occupy Central movement in 2014, which came to be known as the 79-day Umbrella Movement, was the initiator of an unofficial primary election held by pro-democracy figures and activists in Hong Kong in 2020. Another 44 out of the 47 former politicians and prominent pro-democracy activists who had been charged with “conspiracy to commit subversion” over the primary election have been given harsh prison sentences ranging from four years and two months to seven years and nine months.
This injustice appears to bring the notorious “Hong Kong 47” case to an end for now. Sadly, on the day after the sentencing, the trial of media tycoon and Apple Daily newspaper founder Jimmy Lai resumed. We Hong Kongers have to follow the sad and outrageous news about our friends and respected pro-democracy figures being subjected to political trials and sent to jail day after day.
As one of the over 600,000 ordinary Hong Kong citizens who joined long queues to cast our votes in the pro-democracy primary election on July 11-12, 2020, I still vividly remember many details of those two days.
The primary election was held less than two weeks after the national security law was forced upon Hong Kong by China’s National People’s Congress. As citizens, we were never fairly and properly consulted by the Hong Kong government about the law, not to mention that both the Hong Kong government and the Chinese government threatened that we had no choice but to accept the draconian law. The Hong Kong government brazenly claimed that it was our duty to obey that law, which is full of brainwashing elements in support of “patriotism” towards the tyranny of the Chinese regime. Some of us chose to leave Hong Kong for various reasons, while some chose to remain.
However, no matter how the Hong Kong government and the judges in this case tried to justify the arrests and the heavy sentences imposed on our friends, I think many of us are still very puzzled. Can organizing and participating in a primary election be considered “conspiracy to subvert” a powerful authoritarian regime like that of China? Should organizing and participating in the primary election be an offense at all? Would those of us who cast our votes be accused of aiding and abetting an offense, too? Ask yourself if such a view could ever be acceptable in a free country like Japan.
Does this mean that the over 600,000 of us who voted in the primary election could also be considered “criminals”? Is that acceptable and logical at all? How can we who live in democratic societies, like here in Japan, stay silent about such a ridiculous situation?
“National security,” a broad and arbitrary concept, is a powerful weapon used by the Hong Kong government to silence all citizens in the city. It’s obvious — and frustrating — that the Hong Kong government can continue to impose further restrictions and suppress the freedom of expression of the people of Hong Kong with few, if any, consequences.
There have been some noises and criticisms, plus some insignificant sanctions imposed by the U.S. government against Hong Kong and Chinese officials, such as visa sanctions. But the officials apparently haven’t felt any impact at all. Japan and other democratic countries who are members of international organizations like the United Nations should tell the Hong Kong and Chinese governments that they must follow international treaties, such as the Sino-British Joint Declaration, and international covenants, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, if they want to be responsible members of the international community. That is the way that China and Hong Kong could show that they are willing to be part of the community of civilized nations rather than presenting themselves as a threat to other countries.
We have no choice but to speak up and criticize what’s happening in Hong Kong and China. It is definitely not just about the people in Hong Kong; it is about how the people of the world cannot and should not accept tyranny. I will never believe that powerful politicians are the only ones who can help. Rather we, every one of us, should talk to our friends, families and others around us about why we should be concerned about what is happening in Hong Kong and China and why that is important to us here in Japan. Turning a blind eye or staying silent would not mean that such issues have nothing to do with us. If we are complacent toward tyranny, the whole world will be in trouble, and Japan will not be spared.
Patrick Poon
Patrick Poon, who left Hong Kong in 2021, is currently based in Tokyo. A board member and consultant of Asian Lawyers Network and a member of Lady Liberty Hong Kong, he has experience as a visiting researcher at the University of Tokyo and the Institute of Comparative Law at Meiji University. In Hong Kong, he had worked for NGOs, including Amnesty International and China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, focusing on human rights issues in China.
