National Review
In Hong Kong, stay strong
April 16 was a dark day for Hong Kong – a city that has seen many dark days in recent years and whose days are getting darker. A court has handed down sentences for nine democracy lawyers. What were they convicted of? Well, advocating for democracy. US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken issued a statement condemning the sentence. He said that “the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities are targeting Hong Kong because they do nothing but exercise protected fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.” Obviously, the Chinese government is afraid of democracy. Eight of the nine convicts were once democratically elected to the Hong Kong legislature. And the ninth – Jimmy Lai, about whom more in an instant – is an ardent and courageous supporter of democracy. Martin Lee, one of the nine, has long been known as the “father of democracy” in Hong Kong. Other Democrats around the world have been frightened by him since the 1980s. Lee founded the city’s first democratic party, the United Democrats in Hong Kong. Now 82, he was arrested last year for participating in a protest. He made a strong statement: “Over the months and years, I have felt bad to see so many remarkable young people arrested and prosecuted, but I have not been charged. Now I have finally become a defendant. I am proud to have the chance to walk this path of democracy with them. “On Friday, the court sentenced Lee to eleven months, suspended. Other elderly statesmen also received suspended sentences. But Lee Cheuk-yan, 64, is one of the defendants who did not receive such a sentence. He will spend a year and a half in prison. One of the things he is known for is holding an annual vigil to commemorate the Tiananmen Square massacre – an event the authorities want to air. As we have seen, “mainland justice is imported into Hong Kong”. This is how Ellen Bork put it on Friday in a podcast with Jay Nordlinger of the National Review. Along with other supporters of American democracy, she formed the Hong Kong Committee on Freedom. Jimmy Lai is 72 years old. He is the entrepreneur who started poor and reached the top of his business. On his journey, he discovered Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman, becoming a classic liberal charmer. (Indeed, he has a bust of Hayek in the lobby of his media group’s headquarters.) Lai is probably Hong Kong’s most famous resident. If you can watch it and shut it down, you can watch it and shut it down anyone. The court sentenced Lai to 14 months in prison – however, he faces several charges under the new and sinister “national security” law. He could be sentenced to life in prison. Another member of the Hong Kong Freedom Committee is Perry Link, the Chinese scientist who helped the Democrats (and was banned from China for his troubles). He also participated in the podcast mentioned above, together with Ellen Bork. He pointed out that Jimmy Lai was living a very comfortable life and that he could easily have left Hong Kong and raised his feet elsewhere. But he decided to stay and take action and was now deprived of his liberty. A report in the Washington Post included a fitting phrase: The Chinese government is turning Hong Kong into a city “that resembles any other in China.” The government has promised “one country, two systems” for 50 years – that is, until 2047. But the government will not tolerate a distinct and democratic Hong Kong even for 25 years. Beijing is increasingly intolerant of Taiwan. Both places – Hong Kong and Taiwan – have been China’s democratic outposts, setting a “bad” example for the billion Chinese on the continent. Xi Jinping, the current Chinese no. 1, has a clear goal – a legacy project, if you will: to “unite” China, that is, to bring Hong Kong and Taiwan – and the Uighurs and others – to their heels. What can the United States and other democratic governments do? People talk about “staying with.” Secretary Blinken said in his statement: “We will continue to stand by the Hong Kongers as they respond to the Beijing attack on [promised] freedoms and autonomy and we will not stop demanding the release of those detained or imprisoned for the exercise of their fundamental freedoms. “Calling” is important. Moral support is an important and necessary part of “staying with”. The United States did this, to varying degrees, throughout the Cold War. But what else? A number of things. The United States and the rest of the free world must confront China about its behavior in general – Hong Kong, Uighurs, Taiwan, etc. Going to the 2022 Beijing Olympics should be ruled out. Ordinary business – trade relations, diplomatic beauty – should be reconsidered. We should continue to impose sanctions against individual human rights abusers: asset freezes, visa refusals. The people of China should know that we are on their side, not on the side of their leaders or persecutors. U.S. officials have often angered the Kremlin with human rights complaints – “reflecting” human rights. The same can be done now. “Hong Kong is not just Hong Kong on the world stage,” Perry Link said on Friday. “This is a frontier of a greater confrontation” – between democracy and dictatorship, freedom and non-liberation. “This thriving, energetic and free city is being taken over by an autocratic and squatting government. This is an important fact everywhere in the world. ” There were moving scenes in the courtroom, while the leaders of democracy in Hong Kong were sentenced to prison. “Stay strong!” members of the public shouted as the prisoners were led away. That’s what the rest of us should do, in different ways we can: stay strong.