US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemns sentencing of Hong Kong activists
- Blinken asserted that ‘fundamental freedoms’ were being undermined in the city
- His comments were latest sign of bipartisan anger in Washington over Beijing’s actions in Hong Kong
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken denounced Hong Kong’s “politically-motivated” decision to sentence publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and multiple opposition lawmakers to prison for their roles in the 2019 mass protests that rocked the city for a year.
“Beijing and Hong Kong authorities are targeting Hong Kongers for doing nothing more than exercising protected rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of speech,” Blinken said in a statement on Friday.
“Today’s sentences are yet another example of how the PRC and Hong Kong authorities undermine protected rights and fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration in an effort to eliminate all forms of dissent,” he said.
Five opposition figures received jail sentences of eight to 18 months, and five others were handed suspended sentences, including Hong Kong Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming - the harshest punishments yet for prominent opposition leaders over the mass protests.
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Martin Lee, Jimmy Lai and seven ex-lawmakers given jail sentences over 2019 protest march
“The seven pro-democracy leaders – Martin Lee, Jimmy Lai, Albert Ho, Margaret Ng, Cyd Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Leung Kwok-hung – participated in a peaceful assembly attended by 1.7 million Hong Kongers,” Blinken said. “The sentences handed down are incompatible with the non-violent nature of their actions.”
Also sentenced were former Democratic Party lawmakers Au Nok-hin and Yeung Sum, and the veteran opposition politician Leung Yiu-chung.