Ever since the British Commonwealth ceded control of Hong Kong back to China in 1997, the cosmopolitan city has to more closely resemble the Communist mainland every year. Freedom of speech that used to be enjoyed in the city is being dismantled, and citizens are going to jail for acts that Americans would not think twice about.
Just last week, three Hong Kong men were sent to prison for expressing themselves. One wore a T-shirt with a political slog, one sprayed graffiti supporting democracy on a bus, and the third criticized Chinese President Xi Jinping on a social media platform.
The rulings were handed down by a judge picked for his role by the leadership in Hong Kong, and were made possible by a newly expanded “national security” law. Hong Kong is no longer the Westernized city that it once was, with commerce and though flowing freely. China is nudging it into line with its authoritarian values.
China is going back on its promise in 1997 to keep the same “lifestyle” in Hong Kong for 50 years after its release from British rule. But authoritarian governments are not known for keeping promises, especially those that promise any freedoms to ordinary citizens. Growing protests and demands for democratic rule from the populace have angered Chinese political leaders, who responded by cracking down on free expression. News media in the city is no longer free to report the facts without fear. For example, two editors of the now-shuttered Stand News were sent to prison after being convicted of sedition.
Thomas Kellogg of the Georgetown Center for Asian Law said Hong Kong is in the middle of a “national security reordering of the civic space.” He said the government is using its “national security toolkit” to silence the kinds of open political discussions and debates that used to be common in Hong Kong.
The three men convicted under the new Safeguarding National Security Ordinance passed in March were the first to be tried and convicted under the law.
All three were prosecuted under a portion of the law that deals with sedition. The law defines that act as “hatred, contempt, or disaffection” for mainland China, or for the Hong Kong government. In short, residents are not allowed to have incorrect emotions about their rulers. Penalties for sedition have increased from two years in prison to as much as seven years. If the convicted person was found to have cooperated with someone else, he might get a full decade behind bars.
