Forty-five brave activists will spend up to a decade behind bars for challenging the CCP’s tyranny.

Fighting for democracy in Hong Kong can earn you up to 10 years in prison, the High Court ruled this week. On Tuesday, some of Hong Kong’s fiercest advocates for human rights and civil liberties – 45 of the so-called Hong Kong 47 – were sentenced to anywhere between four years and a decade of jail time.

This is the new Hong Kong. Unjust and disproportionate punishment for dissidents has become commonplace. Meanwhile, a former police officer can sexually assault six children and be sentenced to just 46 months. The message is clear: if you support Hong Kong’s totalitarian regime, no matter how hideous your crimes, you will receive some leniency. But dare to challenge the Chinese Communist Party-controlled government, and you will become a political prisoner.

Acclaimed law professor Benny Tai was one of those sentenced this week. Along with the other Hong Kong 47, he was arrested in 2021 and charged with ‘subversion’ for organising an unofficial primary election in 2020 to choose candidates to run for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council. Tai was sentenced to 10 years behind bars. Had he pleaded not guilty, the judge said, he would have received a 15-year sentence.