It is 20 years since China regained sovereignty over Hong Kong, promising to allow the territory civic freedoms and a “high degree of autonomy”. It seems an increasingly hollow promise to the thousands of young Hong Kongers who joined pro-democracy protests in 2014. Since those protests were suppressed, they have seen Beijing steadily increase its interventions in the former colony’s domestic affairs.
In 2015, Chinese agents abducted five book sellers selling politically sensitive books in the city. Last year, Beijing ordered Hong Kong’s government to remove any officials and lawmakers deemed to lack sincerity in their oath of allegiance to China, a move that has led to six legislators being banned from holding office.
Last week’s imprisonment of Joshua Wong and two other leaders of the pro-democracy movement is the latest sign of Beijing’s clampdown on dissent. The jail sentences were imposed by Hong Kong’s High Court, even though the three men had already served non-custodial sentences imposed earlier. The Hong Kong authorities’ decision to reopen the case and seek tougher penalties looks like a transparent attempt — under pressure from Beijing — to prevent them pursuing a career in politics.