Secretary of State John Blinken issued a statement Friday (April 16) condemning the sentencing of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy activists. The U.S. Congress and the Administration’s China Committee (CECC) also condemned the sentencing of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists. On the same day, a spokesman for the U.N. Secretary-General says there should be no prisoners of conscience in the 21st century.
Secretary of State John Blinken issued a written statement condemning the sentencing of pro-democracy activists, including Next Media founder Joseph Lai Chi-ying and Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee, by a Hong Kong court. He said the charges were “politically motivated.
“Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities have targeted Hong Kong people for doing nothing more than exercising their protected rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of speech,” he said in the statement.
He added: “Today’s ruling is yet another example of how the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong authorities are undermining the protected rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration to eliminate all forms of dissent.”
The secretary of state said the United States will continue to stand with the people of Hong Kong and will not stop demanding the release of those detained or imprisoned for exercising their fundamental freedoms.
Secretary Blinken also condemned the sentencing on Twitter, tweeting with the hashtag “#StandWithHongKong.
On Friday, a Hong Kong court sentenced nine Hong Kong pro-democracy leaders to prison terms ranging from eight months to a year and a half, including Martin Lee, 82, known as the “father of democracy” in Hong Kong; Jimmy Lai, 72, founder of Next Media; Lee Cheuk-yan, 64, chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKASPDMC); and Lee Cheuk-yan, 64. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69-year-old Albert Ho, former chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and a number of former legislators from the democratic camp, including Margaret Ng, 73, Leung Kwok-hung, 65, Cyd Ho, 66, Leung Yiu-chung, 67, and Leung Yiu-chung, 33. Leung Yiu-chung, 67, and Au Nok-hin, 33. They were arrested by police in April last year on charges of organizing and participating in an unauthorized rally in August 2019.
In addition, Lai Chi-ying, Lee Cheuk-yan and Yeung Sum, former chairman of the Democratic Party, were sentenced for their participation in another unauthorized rally and march.
In response to the ruling, Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, the chairman of the U.S. Congress and the Administration’s China Committee, and Representative McGovern of Massachusetts, the committee’s co-chairman, also issued a statement Friday condemning the ruling.
“All those who work to restore autonomy and human rights to Hong Kong should condemn these convictions. These are clearly political prosecutions,” they said in the statement. “Almost no one predicted that there would one day be political prisoners in Hong Kong, and sadly, that is now the case, with more to come under the draconian National Security Law. Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms, guaranteed by international treaties, continue to be under attack. Chi-ying Lai faces other charges related to running a pro-democracy newspaper, which suggests that freedom of the press is also rapidly disappearing.”
Senator Merkley and Representative McGovern added, “The signals sent today should have serious implications for the relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. We stand ready to legislate for the people of Hong Kong and urge the Biden administration and the international community to hold accountable those who have conducted political prosecutions in Hong Kong.”
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the United Nations, responded when asked at a regular press conference about the sentencing of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
He said, “First, the Secretary-General has consistently affirmed his recognition of the principles of China’s unity and territorial integrity; and his belief in respecting the will of the people of Hong Kong. As we have said in this case and others, and as the Secretary-General has said, there should be no prisoners of conscience in the 21st century.”
Asked if this meant that the Secretary-General condemned the sentences, the spokesman avoided a direct answer, instead referring the questioner to what he had just said.
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