Dharamshala, 13th December: Jimmy Lai, a media mogul, was sentenced to up to 13 months in prison by a Hong Kong court last year for taking part in an unauthorized assembly to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown. Lai, the creator of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced to 13 months in prison in District Court for encouraging and participating in the illegally held peaceful candlelight vigil on June 4 last year. He had already entered a not-guilty plea.
Despite the fact that he is facing many accusations under Hong Kong’s national security law, the allegations brought against him on Monday were not part of the controversial legislation.
Since 1990, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Chinese Patriotic Democratic Movements has held a candlelight vigil in the city’s Victoria Park. However, authorities for the first time banned the event last year, citing the risk of coronavirus.
The former British colony, which returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 with promises of broad freedoms, is home to the world’s largest 4 June vigil, but police have refused down applications for the past two events, citing coronavirus limitations.
Since Beijing enacted a sweeping national security law last year, dozens of activists have been detained, incarcerated, or fled the Chinese-ruled area, and the sentencing is the latest blow to the city’s democracy movement.
The defendants “ignored and belittled a genuine public health issue,” according to the judge, Amanda Woodcock, and “wrongly and arrogantly believed” in honoring 4 June rather than preserving the community’s health.
Following large pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, the global financial metropolis has taken a rapid authoritarian turn, with Beijing enacting a comprehensive national security law last year that affects many facets of city life.
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