Opinion | The Occupy leaders have been jailed, but questions about democracy for Hong Kong won’t fade away

Beyond the debate on whether the sentences for eight leaders of the pro-democracy protests of 2014 were just, Hong Kong will still have to grapple with questions about the limits of free expression, the role of civil disobedience, and the prospects for democracy here

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Published: 6:00am, 26 Apr 2019Updated: 6:00am, 26 Apr 2019

The Occupy protests of 2014 were intended to force change in Hong Kong in the form of democratic elections. Five years on, the city is a different place. But the changes are not those the leaders of the movement had hoped for.

Eight of them were sentenced this week for their part in mass demonstrations which blocked streets for 79 days. Two founders of the civil disobedience movement, academics Benny Tai Yiu-ting, 54, and Chan Kin-man, 60, were jailed for 16 months. Politicians Shiu Ka-chun, 49, and Raphael Wong Ho-ming, 30, were each imprisoned for eight months. The District Court judge imposed non-custodial sentences on the other four.

The sentences in this – the last in a long line of Occupy cases – raise fresh questions about the limits of free expression in Hong Kong, the role of civil disobedience and what has been perceived by many as a government crackdown on dissent.

Britain, the United States and the European Union were all quick to issue statements expressing concern about the potential impact of the sentences on the exercise of freedoms in the city.

Predictably, opponents of the Occupy movement viewed the sentences as too lenient and supporters thought them too harsh. Given those reactions, the judge, Johnny Chan Jong-herng, might feel he got the balance right. He imposed a range of sentences and showed some compassion, notably in the case of Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, 75, whose 16-month jail term was suspended due to his age, poor health and many years of service to society.

But the focus will be on the immediate prison terms for people who were advocating peaceful, if unlawful, protest. They had said they were prepared to accept the legal consequences of their actions – and have now had to do so. But the sending of academics and activists to jail in such circumstances makes for an unedifying spectacle.

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