On Tuesday, a Hong Kong court sentenced 45 prominent prodemocracy activists to years in prison in the biggest crackdown yet under the city’s draconian, Beijing-imposed National Security Law. Those sentenced, including legal scholar Benny Tai and former student leader Joshua Wong, were convicted of conspiring to commit subversion for their role in organizing an unofficial primary for the 2020 Legislative Council elections. This is the latest and largest example of the Chinese Communist Party’s drive for total control over the city.
The Journal of Democracy essays below, free for a limited time, detail Hong Kong’s decades-long fight for freedom, and the CCP’s unrelenting repression.
Fighting for Democracy Is a Crime in Hong Kong
A Hong Kong court just handed out heavy sentences to 45 democracy activists. The pro-Beijing government is taking a hard line against anyone who would challenge it.
Michael C. DavisHong Kong: How Beijing Perfected Repression
With the new National Security Law, the Chinese Communist Party has honed its more sophisticated tool for hollowing out the city, whose rights and freedoms Beijing had once promised to respect.
Michael C. Davis30 Years After Tiananmen: Hong Kong Remembers
It was the impact of Tiananmen that made the democracy movement in Hong Kong a mass phenomenon. Today, the democratic cause in Hong Kong remains linked to the democratic cause in China as a whole.
Benny TaiCrackdown: Hong Kong Faces Tiananmen 2.0
Liberty flourished in Hong Kong, but the Chinese Communist Party has crushed it. Beijing wants “capitalism without freedom” in the city, but can there be one without the other?
Victoria Tin-bor HuiChina: From Tiananmen to Neo-Stalinism
To grasp why post-Mao China’s remarkable economic development has not aided democracy, we must look first at the policies of top Chinese leaders.
Minxin Pei
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