Seven of Hong Kong s leading pro-democracy advocates, including 82-year-old veteran activist Martin Lee and pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, are expected to be sentenced Friday for organizing a march during the 2019 anti-government protests that triggered an overwhelming crackdown from Beijing. They were found guilty earlier this month of organizing and participating in a massive protest in August 2019, where an estimated 1.7 million people marched in opposition to a bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial. The seven are expected to submit pleas for more lenient punishment before sentencing is handed down. They face up to five years in prison.
Nine of Hong Kong s leading pro-democracy advocates were sentenced to jail terms Friday for organizing a march during the 2019 anti-government protests that triggered an overwhelming crackdown from Beijing. They were found guilty earlier this month of organizing and participating in a massive protest in August 2019, where an estimated 1.7 million people marched in opposition to a bill that would have allowed suspects to be extradited to mainland China for trial. The protest was not authorized by the police. Their convictions and sentencing were the latest blow to the city s flagging democracy movement, amid an ongoing crackdown by Beijing and Hong Kong authorities on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese city.
A group of 11 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists accused of subversion will stay in jail for at least another five days while judges consider whether to release them on bail, a court said Saturday. The group, which includes three former legislators, will have hearings Thursday and on March 13, the High Court said. A court agreed this week to release them but prosecutors appealed the decision. They are among 47 people who were charged under a national security law imposed on the Chinese territory last year by the ruling Communist Party after pro-democracy protests. They were arrested after opposition groups held an unofficial vote last year to pick candidates for elections to the territory s Legislative Council.
53 individuals were arrested and stand accused of involvement in a plot to bring about the "mutual destruction" of Hong Kong and mainland China.
for hours outside ballot stations to cast vote necessary local district elections, which seem to be boring and don t have a lot of say when it comes to how the government is run in hong kong. i found this was stunning and the fact that going into this vote, you had the pre-establishment beijing camp saying let s hear the voice of the silent majority, they thought most of hong kong approved of the ongoing process, i think the takeaway, stands for freedom and they want democracy. charles: now what? china has been pretty firm, you know, i mean, they have shown, things have gotten a little bit tougher, the thing with the university last week, the clashes have gotten more violent. what happens from here. susan: yeah, that is a very good point. the fact you flipped 80% of the offer in hong kong to pro-democracy camp, galvanizes ongoing protest. if i was standing in hong kong,