In September 2022, in once-free Hong Kong, a land where judicial repression has now become the norm, “a university professor, two former lawmakers, a Cantopop singer and a Catholic cardinal were charged by the Hong Kong government for failing to register a humanitarian aid fund with the police,” reports Eric Lai for East Asia Forum. “The five defendants—90-year-old Cardinal Joseph Zen, singer Denise Ho, cultural studies professor Po-Keung Hui and former lawmakers Margaret Ng and Cyd Ho—are well-known supporters of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.”
The five had established the fund in 2019 to help protestors who were having financial difficulties. The fund relied on crowdfunding to help some 14,000 protestors and others involved in the 2019 protests.
One must suspect that the hammer did not come down on these five for “failing to register a humanitarian aid fund with the police.” In other words, if they had registered the fund and still been able to collect and distribute donations, they would not have been in the clear with Hong Kong rulers determined to appease and accept the marching orders of the mainland government.
Judicial independence and justice are now dead in Hong Kong. The National Security Law of 2020 “law introduced four offences—secession, subversion, terrorist acts and foreign collusion. These categories are defined broadly and can be applied to target many non-violent civil society activities. The NSL can be considered a reprisal for persistent support for anti-authoritarian protests, pro-democracy primaries, international lobbying and general labour strikes during the anti–extradition law protests….
“Over 10,000 citizens were arrested in the anti-extradition bill movement and more than 2000 protestors—who are now regarded as political prisoners—have been imprisoned for years.”
