Ma Chun-man is a Hong Kong democracy advocate famous for holding Captain America’s shield at pro-democracy rallies in the city.
But Ma ran afoul of the draconian and ill-defined Hong Kong “national security law” and has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison.
What dangerous activity was Ma sentenced to 6 years in prison for?
According to the BBC, “The slogans Ma is said to have chanted included ‘liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times’ and ‘Hong Kong independence, the only way out.'”
Dangerous, indeed.
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“The Hong Kong government must stop endlessly expanding its definition of ‘endangering national security as a means of locking up people who express views it doesn’t like,” said Amnesty’s deputy secretary-general Kyle Ward.
The Chinese Communists are terrified of free speech because it upsets their fantasy that everyone is happy and content. If someone objects, they’re obviously anti-social misfits and society must be shielded from their poisonous thoughts.
That’s what they’re telling the people, anyway.
The case against Ma, 31, was based on slogans he chanted at rallies, signs he held and interviews he gave to the media.
On Thursday, a Hong Kong court sentenced him to five years and nine months in prison, with the judge accusing Ma of showing no remorse.
In a letter to the judge read out before his sentencing, Ma said, “I do not feel any regret”, Reuters news agency reported.
“On my road to democracy and freedom, I can’t afford to be a coward,” he wrote.
One of Ma’s lawyers, Chris Ng, told reporters he was not sure if there would be an appeal.
When the new national security law was proposed, Hong Kong activists took to the streets to protest the loss of sovereignty. The law has been even worse than predicted as its broad language is being used to ensnare just about anyone who expressed any opposition to the government of China or its policies.
Ma is the second person to be jailed under the law, which was passed in 2020 after protests the previous year.
It reduces Hong Kong’s autonomy and makes it easier to punish activists.
Beijing insists that the widely criticised legislation is needed to bring stability to the city, but critics say it is designed to squash dissent in Hong Kong.
China has violated the agreement it signed with Great Britain when the Brits turned over control of Hong Kong to China in 1997. Does anyone doubt that any agreements the PRC has entered into mean anything more than the paper they’re printed on?
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