Britain Urges China To Stop Stifling HK Opposition

Britain on Wednesday urged the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities to "bring an end to their campaign to stifle opposition" in the SAR.

The call came from British Foreign Minister Dominic Raab in a statement issued shortly after the jailing of Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam over a protest last year.

"Prosecution decisions must be fair and impartial, and the rights and freedoms of people in Hong Kong must be upheld," Raab added.

Former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten, meanwhile, called for the world to unite in solidarity with the people of the SAR.

"The imprisonment today of Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow – all of them campaigners for the rule of law and democracy in Hong Kong – is another grim example of China's determination to put Hong Kong in handcuffs," he said in a statement.

Nathan Law – a former colleague of Wong, Chow and Lam at the now-disbanded Demosisto group – said he was devastated to see the trio being jailed, describing the sentences of up to 13.5 months as "absurd".

"Sentences could pile up. To be honest, I have no idea when the trio could step out of the prison if Beijing pledges to impose the hardest charges on them arbitrarily," a post on Law's Twitter account said.

"Once again, it’s another blatant attack on the HK activists, whose wishes are solely bringing democracy to Hong Kong. Beijing never fulfilled their promises. Rather, they have politically suppressed tens of thousands of protestors who are chanting for their legitimate claims."

Law fled Hong Kong for Britain around the time when Beijing imposed the national security law on the SAR in the summer. He is reportedly wanted by the police for an unspecified national security offence.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen also took to Twitter to respond to the jailing of the trio, saying she was saddened by the news.

"These brave young people are symbols of freedom & democracy in Hong Kong, values that we will never stop fighting for," she said.