A Portuguese man has become the first European citizen jailed under the China-imposed National Security Law in Hong Kong, a law widely criticised by rights groups.
Joseph John, also known as Wong Kin-chung, holds a Portuguese passport and Hong Kong residency and was previously based in the UK.
He was arrested for posting pro-independence and anti-China content on social media, after returning to Hong Kong to visit family in 2022
In February, he was convicted of “secession” and on Thursday sentenced to five years in jail.
Under the law, secession is the offence of advocating for Hong Kong to break away from China.
Realistically though, what could they do? I absolutely agree that this violates Mr. John’s human rights along with the human rights of everyone else who has been jailed under this and other anti-democracy crackdowns, but Hong Kong is Chinese property. That’s not under dispute like Taiwan. It’s an accepted fact. China, unfortunately, has the right to take its semi-autonomous status away from it any time it likes. I don’t want that to happen and I’m sure neither do you, but it is within its rights because Hong Kong is within its territory and has been since the British handed it over.
It’s hard to imagine now, I agree, with so many bigger problems (not the least of which is maintaining democracy in our own countries in the face of international backsliding into authoritarianism). But an international coalition, perhaps with a treaty limiting or penalizing economic interactions with governments that act to suppress democratic speech, might be a good start.
We used to be able to walk and chew bubble gum at the same time, diplomatically-speaking. Now we’re just trying to not fall on our face while standing still.