The student activist is among 29 defendants expected to accept subversion charges under Beijing’s highly controversial legislation, which has all but quelled any remaining anti-government protests since coming into force two years ago.
The steady erosion of civil society in Hong Kong continues with new jail sentences for three prominent activists and growing pressure on the media.
Today, a dozen pro-democracy candidates were disqualified from Legislative Council elections in Hong Kong. The government made clear that dissent to the national security law that Beijing imposed on July 1 is now a disqualifying condition.
At around midnight Hong Kong time last night, China’s central government released the text of the new national security law. The law has already intimidated several Hong Kong civil society actors to publicly withdraw from their roles as opposition forces.