Commentary: Fate of truth tellers in China a warning for America
William McKenzie, For the Express-News
June 5, 2021
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Democracy activist Joshua Wong, center, has been imprisoned for speaking truth to power. Manipulation of the truth is the ground game of authoritarians and propagandists and it’s destabilizing to a democracy like ours.Associated Press file photo
Joshua Wong is in a Chinese prison for having the temerity to speak the truth. For that, Chinese authorities just gave the lithe 24-year-old democracy activist another 10 months on top of the 13½ months they sentenced him to in December for standing up for free speech and the freedom of assembly in his hometown of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Pushes âFake Newsâ Label as Media Face âWorst of Timesâ
The police distributed a magazine denouncing ârumors and lies,â and have warned news outlets against undermining national security.
The newsroom of Apple Daily in Hong Kong in 2020. The chief of police has accused the paper of âinciting hatred.âCredit.Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times
HONG KONG â The glossy pamphlet from the police, delivered to newsrooms in Hong Kong, declared: âKnow the Facts: Rumors and Lies Can Never Be Right.â With it was a letter addressed to editors, decrying the âwicked and slanderous attacksâ against the police.