The recently disbanded Hong Kong Alliance and its former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan and others have been found guilty of “inciting subversion of state power” under the Hong Kong National Security Law, with Lee Cheuk-yan and others receiving sentences of 7 years or more. The Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China has condemned the arbitrary trampling of democracy and human rights by the Hong Kong National Security Law and called for an immediate halt to political persecution.
The Hong Kong High Court handed down verdicts on September 11 at the West Kowloon Court, sentencing Lee Cheuk-yan and Jimmy Sham, who did not plead guilty, to 7 years and 7 years 3 months respectively, and sentencing Tony Chung, who admitted guilt, to 5 years 2 months. The Alliance was fined HK$1.5 million by the judge.
In a press release, the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China expressed regret and condemnation for the heavy sentencing of the “Hong Kong Citizen Support Foundation for the Patriotic Democratic Movement” (Alliance) and its former chairman and vice-chairmen Lee Cheuk-yan, Jimmy Sham, and Tony Chung by the Hong Kong court under the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law.
The Mainland Affairs Council stated that the pursuit of democracy and human rights is not a crime, and fabricating charges under the guise of national security for political trials is a protection for authoritarian regimes, once again proving to the international community that the so-called “One Country, Two Systems” is nothing but a deception.
The Mainland Affairs Council pointed out that in 2021, the Chinese Communist Party issued the “White Paper on China’s Democracy,” proclaiming that “democracy is a common value for all mankind, a significant belief that the CCP and the Chinese people have consistently adhered to,” so what crime is there in the democratic advocacy of the Hong Kong Alliance? Their conviction and heavy sentencing for “inciting subversion of state power” not only represents a comprehensive crackdown on the people of Hong Kong but also highlights the true face of the Chinese Communist Party’s democratic deception.
The Mainland Affairs Council once again called on the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government to immediately release all democratic activists who have been arbitrarily detained and sentenced for exercising their basic rights. The government will closely monitor the situation in Hong Kong, stand side by side with democratic partners in the international community, and continue to safeguard the frontline of democracy and freedom.