Hong Kong democracy activists jailed: Who are they, what’s the case about?
Al JazeeraThe Hong Kong 47 were first arrested in 2021 for organising unofficial elections that authorities likened to a ‘coup’. In what’s being called the largest national security case in Hong Kong, prosecutors accused the defendants of plotting to “overthrow” the government by forcing the city’s leader to resign. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also said her government was “gravely concerned” by the rulings for Australia-Hong Kong dual citizen Gordon Ng, sentenced to more than seven years, and the others. The sentencing, she said, “further proves that ‘one country, two systems’ is unfeasible,” Kuo said, adding that Hong Kong’s touted autonomy was broken. Maya Wang, China director at Human Rights Watch, said the harsh sentences reflect how fast Hong Kong’s civil liberties and judicial independence have nosedived in the past four years since the national security law was introduced.