Hong Kong Student Activists Jailed for ‘Subversion’
Hong Kong Student Activists Jailed for 'Subversion'
In a recent incident, three pro democracy student activists between the ages of 18 and 20 years old were jailed for ‘subversion’, under the new national security law imposed by China on the once democratic Hong Kong. The city’s new national security police unit senior superintendent, Steve Li, announced the arrest on Monday based on the spreading ‘hateful speech against the government’, including urging people not to use the government app to ‘track coronavirus cases’. The group of student activists set up street booths to distribute books, face masks, and chocolate sweets in support of prisoners jailed under the national security law. Police raided the group’s warehouse seizing large amounts of sweets, surgical masks, biscuits, lotion, and books. ‘Subversion’ charges can carry a maximum of 10 years in prison. Jailed activists have been accused of using chocolate and hairclips to “build power” and “solicit followers”within detention centers in an aim to turn people against the government. Since the national security law was implemented in June of 2020, hundreds of Hongkongers have been jailed and many are still awaiting trial.
The history of student activism in Hong Kong goes back to decades, before the Tiananmen Square massacre, rooting itself in a complex history of British colonialism and a transfer of power and sovereignty to China in 1997. The characterization of pro-democracy activists as using commodities like face masks to ‘curry the favor’ of prisoners to join their cause borders on comical - as if those jailed for political acts need converting. The image of the Hong Kong police seizing large amounts of face masks, books, biscuits and lotion perfectly characterizes the imbalance of power and that is depicted by the state in a twisted reversal. As Beijing continues to violate the independence and freedoms of Hong Kongers, installing powerful systems of surveillance, violence, and control, people continue to resist - especially young people. The long legacy of student-led protest movements evokes the powerful message that the next generation is willing to risk their years of their lives in prison, or to die, to stand up against the behemoth of Beijing state power. Even as Hong Kongers continue to fight, it is by no means an equal match.
Sources:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/09/hong-kongs-students-continue-fight/598183/
https://hongkongfp.com/2021/09/20/hong-kong-national-security-police-arrest-student-group-leaders/