Thread by @WilliamYang120

10 pro-democracy figures in #HongKong were given more than a year's sentences for participating in an assembly in October 2019. Here's a piece from @austinramzy that puts it into the context of the crackdown on civil society that we have seen since 2019. nytimes.com/2021/05/28/wor…

"Fernando Cheung, a pro-democracy former lawmaker, said Friday that “such severe punishments” sent a message of deterrence to the people of Hong Kong days before an annual June 4 vigil to honor the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests."

"Hong Kong’s High Court issued an explanation for why it had denied bail to Claudia Mo, a moderate former lawmaker who is among 47 pro-democracy activists charged under a draconian new national security law."

"Judge Esther Toh cited, among other reasons, “accusations of desperation and loss of human rights and freedom” that Ms. Mo had made in interviews and WhatsApp conversations with journalists from international news organizations, including The New York Times."

"Activists, academics and others are increasingly wary of speaking to the foreign news media in Hong Kong, where press freedom is enshrined in the local constitution but under growing threat."

Here's a statement from @RSF_en regarding the further sentencing of pro-democracy figures including Jimmy Lai:

rsf.org/en/news/hong-k…

“It’s about time that the international community takes action to stop the judicial harassment of Jimmy Lai and to pressure the Hong Kong government into restoring full press freedom, a principle enshrined in the territory’s Basic Law” says Cédric Alviani.