Dozens of Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Leaders Sentenced in Mass Trial
The 45 defendants, including Joshua Wong, were at the forefront of the opposition movement crushed by Beijing. Many had already been in jail for years.
Uncertainty for Loved Ones of Hong Kong’s Pro-Democracy Activists
1:43
Ventus Lau is one of 45 activists and politicians who was sentenced in the city’s biggest national security trial. His girlfriend, Emilia Wong, a gender rights activist, talks about the impact his case has had on their relationship.CreditCredit...Chan Long Hei/Associated Press
A Hong Kong court on Tuesday sentenced 45 former politicians and activists in a mass trial that has decimated the city’s once vibrant pro-democracy opposition and served as a warning that resistance to Beijing can be costly.
The landmark trial is the most forceful use of a national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 in response to months of large protests against Chinese rule. The prosecution of the activists, the vanguard of Hong Kong’s opposition, has delivered what experts described as a knockout blow to hopes for democracy in the city.
Their offense, according to the authorities: holding or taking part in an unofficial primary election.
In one fell swoop in 2021, the authorities arrested Benny Tai, 60, a legal scholar and opposition strategist; Joshua Wong, 28, a prominent pro-democracy activist; and dozens of others, including veteran former lawmakers and younger politicians who called for self-determination for Hong Kong.
