Joshua Wong and 2 Others Jailed in Hong Kong Over Pro-Democracy Protest

I disagree with those who clam that it is political prosecution. These 3 people broke the law when they climbed over the fence and went inside a government building. Law enforcement did not tolerate occupy Wall Street in the USA. British and German police forcibly removed protesters who blocked traffic in their countries. Therefore it would be a double standard if they say that Hong Kong protesters have the right to commit violent and/or destructive acts in the name of pro-democracy Further, these 3 young protest leaders did not act democratically. They ignored millions of people who signed a petition telling them to stop occupying the streets in 2014, and they also called for the resignation of the elected Chief CY Leung without cause. In fact, they are more like professional troublemakers who create unrest and get paid by people who oppose the Chinese and Hong Kong governments. Joshua Wong is poorly educated, with only a high school diploma, and he does not have any regular job. He has vacationed twice in Taiwan and gone to visit the US more than once, and he is living off the donations to his political party. He is more like a parasite and irritant than anything else.

Can we be clear on two points:
1) They were sent to jail because they used violence and incited violence during these protests. Properties were damaged and security guards were injured. They would not have been touched if the protests were peaceful. Would the US government not have charged anyone who forced their way into your Congress or the White House?
2) They were sentenced to jail by HK's judicial system and not by the CCP. HK has a global ranking of 16/113 in the WJP Rule of Law Index while the US is ranked 18th.

Did anyone really believe the Communist mainland would long let Hong Kong wave democracy and freedom in front of its millions? Sure.

The sentence was too short. If you advocate for the overthrow of the government, you are a traitor and deserve far worse. Mr. Wong and the two others are naive college kids who have never lived in a democracy, and have no idea of its shortcomings. This is the idealistic youth demographic that needs to be controlled in every society, and not allowed near political power.

Hong Kong wasn't a democracy under British rule, but they didn't protest then. This points to one thing. They are motivated primarily by a fear of the mainland, not by love of democracy. They use democracy as a marker to distinguish Hong Kong, which they believe to be superior, from the mainland. Their chauvinism will not hold for long.

Just curious! Have the Hong Kong youth protested the British government when they don't even have chance to choose or know who will govern them as viceroy of colonial Hong Kong. And have the foreign newspaper spoke for their right of vote? what a democratic world!

Regardless of one's views about Chinese government policy, one thing is clear: in order for the moment that swept Hong Kong to continue, the ability to access information freely is critical. With the recent ban on virtual private networks (VPNs), which can bypass the Great Firewall to access the global Internet, the Chinese government is effectively doubling down on what it has already stressed: that the mandated, pre-packaged, pre-vetted government narrative is the only acceptable truth in the country. And with increasing numbers of Chinese tourists visiting foreign destinations, fueled by curiosity about the world outside of China, this manufactured reality is likely unsustainable. The fact that such a system is ubiquitous and imposed on 1.3 billion people is concerning at best, a powderkeg at worst.

To everyone who said the right wing nut jobs shouldn't be allowed to express their views in Charlottesville, or that it's OK to meet speech you don't like with violence. Take a good look at HK. This is what it looks like to have no Bill of Rights. The government says "we'll protect you from bad speech, we'll protect you from dangerous people". Does anyone like what they see here? If you think this could never happen here, look back to the Dakota pipeline protests last year. That was just over economic and environmental issues. You think the Governor who proposed decriminalizing running over people in a roadway is concerned about your first amendment rights? Views that are popular or government approved don't need first amendment protection.

The Chinese Communist Party has so successfully suppressed individuality and promoted groupthink during its many decades in power that most Chinese self-enforce their own repression and speak out against any of their fellow citizens who fail to conform. Even at foreign universities like the one where I teach, students from China will lash out at objective analysis of Chinese policies and economic measures (which they reflecively denounce as criticism), silence each other in class, and insist that all Chinese students rigidly toe the party line. This conformism (which they view as patriotism) often continues even in one-on-one discussion, where I sometimes joke, "you can relax now, no one is recording what you say." They are so thoroughly indoctrinated that they espouse the party's ideology without questioning it.

For a time, Hong Kong's relative independence allowed a window of individuality to open, and saw a flourishing of young independent thinkers who resisted mass conformity. But I fear that as Beijing exerts ever-more rigid control over Hong Kong, this period is coming to an end.

The nationalist spirit that has grown, almost inevitably, in China throughout several decades of economic advancement, during which the CCP has systematically whitewashed the brutal and lawless part it has played in stifling challenges to its authority, means there will always be significant numbers of pro-Beijing partisans in these sorts of comments sections making considerable mileage out of the fact that people like messrs Law, Wong and Chow, in challenging the authority of Beijing, have in fact engaged in unpatriotic behaviour and therefore deserve their punishment.

But this begs the question of what it means today to be both patriotic and a Chinese citizen. If patriotism means supporting a system that arbitrarily detains citizens without charge, tortures them, denies them access to a lawyer, threatens or even detains their families, and ultimately forces them to participate in show-trials that boast a 99.9% conviction rate - in short, a system that shows utter contempt for the rule of law in anything but a grimly ironic sense - then patriotism seems not to be a meritorious stance to take at all, and anyone who, on the contrary, is "unpatriotic" in the way messrs Law, Wong and Chow have been would seem to deserve the highest praise for championing, against overwhelming odds, a better system of values and for earnestly wanting their country to be a place where such values might be allowed to prevail.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain joining in toast with Deng Xiaoping, center, China's leader, and Prime Minister Zhao Ziyang at signing of pact in Peking. Under accord, Britain is to surrender Hong Kong to China in 1997, with China guaranteeing a 50-year extension of the colony's free-market economy.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/1219.html?mcubz=1

"Mrs. Thatcher conceded the issue of sovereignty and Mr. Deng responded by proposing the formula of ''one country, two systems,'' which was adopted in the agreement signed today. Under the formula, Peking promises to maintain Hong Kong's free-market economy, its legal system and other rights enjoyed by its 5.5 million people side by side with China's Communist system."

Since Hong Kong is a Sovereign part of China, this is all just a count down to 2047 when the transfer agreement ends and so does everything else. None of us will be alive at that point in time and while I salute the protestors in their quest for democracy, I also know that the Ministry of State Security Bureau 4 and assorted other Chinese security organizations are keeping a close eye.

When it comes to human rights and freedoms, people don't usually realize the gravity of the situation until it's too late. Most Hongkongers, like many other affluent and modern civilizations, have fallen into the deadly trap of apathy and indifference. I can only hope that these young activists do not give up and continue to inspire others to join in their fight for their basic rights. All the best to them and others who are taking a stand for Hong Kong.

He's a historic figure, there's no doubt that when the Chinese finally have their full civil and human rights secured by a new democracy he will be seen as the important beginning of the end of one party tyranny. Unfortunately I fear he will be all too effectively silenced. The Chinese communist party knows that the people of Shanghai and Beijing are desirous of freedom as well.

I wonder if this will impair Hong Kong's function as an economic success outside of China's restrictive system

The courage of Joshua Wang, Nathan Law, Alex Chow, and all the participants of the umbrella movement is recognized and comforting. They are struggling to defend everyone’s freedom. Though free people shouldn’t take too much of a break. The Chinese government is constantly trying to influence peoples’ perceptions of China and the Parties leadership. The change in sentencing presents an example of Communist power and their preferred method of influencing judges. How Hong Kong goes so goes the rest of the world.

you guys are fully following this case? before made a responsible comment, i hope you guys watch whole tv clips of these people behaviour. the tv clip clearly showing these three guys persuaded youngsters charging against guards of hk government restricted area. hong kong allows residents share his will or religion without constraint. why people think the wrong way and not fully understand the case why these three sentenced to jail?

i am hong kong resident

Why are people pretending these were "peaceful protestors"??! It was a riot. Instigated by these guys and their actions.

60% Hong Kong People support democracy movement. However, the China Communist Party handpicked the Chief Executive and their puppets control the
Legislative Council.

The conization of Hong Kong required Great Britan to return the Island to the Chinese government after the lease period. People are not chattel! The property had to be returned. Not the citizens. The citizens should have the right to go or stay in the UK even if threatened with imprisonment. Any long term change in policy will come about only when the Chinese government has decided to give greater rights to all their citizens. It was foolish to expect the social and economic condition would not change under the Communists. regime.

The 50 Cent Party, or 50 Cent Army (Chinese: 五毛党 wǔmáo dǎng), is the colloquial term for Internet commentators (Chinese: 网络评论员 wǎngluò pínglùn yuán), hired by Chinese authorities in an attempt to manipulate public opinion to the benefit of the Chinese Communist Party.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party

Democracy will bring disasters to Hong kong without the systerm of law and the rationalities of citizens. According to my experience, the sentence will be heavier in US.

Get up, stand up. Stand up for your rights.

What a disgrace and an affront this imprisonment of messrs. Wong, Law and Chow is to human rights in China. The tightening of freedoms on this wonderfully vibrant city with a young and dynamic, hardworking populace is incredibly disheartening. The corrupt and immoral government in Beijing is cracking down ever harder against people on the mainland, lawyers, dissidents and nobel prize laureates and now, against these idealistic and admirable people in Hong Kong just so that it can rule its people with an iron fist. Here we see first hand the way Xi Jingping operates, with impunity, crushing any dissent. But, the situation in China is anything but stable and if we continue to pressure them on human rights, the civilised world may prevail. We must Support democracy here and education our young people to put down their computer games and smartphones and take an interest in the furthering of consciousness of these proud and brave young people.

Sentence fairly light given the millions of damage these protests led to. In the US and EY, sentences would have been far more severe. Still, at least jail time is better than community service and will deter these anti China elements from organising similar protests in the future.

Hong Kong was stolen from China by the British at the point of a gun, who never in their 200-year old rule ever considered "democracy." The West, of course, idolizes Wong: anything to score a few points against China. I've read that most older citizens want peace, tranquility, and good relations with the mainland and are not enamored by this young student who, in his inexperience, doesn't realize that, the world over, democracy is owned and operated by the wealthy and their compliant media. Nice to be that young and idealistic. I remember those days.

Don't expect Trump to tweet a condemnation of China's action.

Brave young man. This is a shame. They will try to kill him in prison.

Many young student protesters in H.K. actually were "educated" or "trained" or even financed by anti-China professional adult protesters in other areas。 Like the anti-Chinese DDParty in Taiwan every summer will sponsor and host "leadership training" camps for Hong Kong students, years before the Umbrella breakout. Mr. Wong starting young was brought by his parents to participate Christian-church-sponsored camps in Singapore.

China's communist party seems adamant to muzzle any intent of it's own people to choose the government they need and want, with basic human rights and freedom of expression, so their huge potential can give rise to a new renaissance. Perhaps there is too much corruption already to find a humane solution to this abuse of power. Poor China, with Mr Xi the visible head of a disgraceful attempt to prevent his citizens to contribute, especially with constructive criticism aimed at restoring justice, and the peace any worthwhile society is entitled to. Unilateral decissions at the top, with no consultation with the affected citizens is a greedy abuse of power that will boomerang to their detriment. A sad chapter in a suffering population, with no say in their own future. How long can this go on?

Joshua=Hope for Hong Kong. Please let Hong Kong be Hong Kong!