«They are trying to instill as much fear and desperation in activists as they can.»
Last week three leading democracy activists in Hong Kong were sentenced for their role in a protest that took place in 2019. Joshua Wong was given 13 1/2 months, Agnes Chow was sentenced to 10 months and Ivan Lam was given 7 months. It was the first time Chow has been jailed, and she sobbed as the sentence was read out. Both Lam and Wong have been to prison before, and dragged before court even more often. A day later, another iconic opposition figure, Jimmy Lai — the septuagenarian founder of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily — was denied bail after an initial hearing into a fraud case. He will remain behind bars until the next trial date in April. In denying bail, the judge deemed the multimillionaire to be a flight risk, though Lai previously vowed to stay in the city and fight, despite facing growing pressure related to his activism. Tuesday of this week police arrested 8 more activists including former pro-democracy lawmakers: Former pro-democracy lawmakers Wu Chi-wai, Eddie Chu and Leung Kwok Hung were arrested at their homes on charges related to organizing and participating in the protest, according to Facebook posts on their respective pages.
