By Andrew Firmin
LONDON, Jul 4 2025 – Joshua Wong sits in a maximum-security prison cell, knowing the Hong Kong authorities are determined to silence him forever. On 6 June, police arrived at Stanley Prison bringing fresh charges that could see the high-profile democracy campaigner imprisoned for life. This is the reality of Hong Kong: even when behind bars, activists can be considered too dangerous ever to be freed.

An infamous anniversary is approaching. 30 June will mark five years since the passing of Hong Kong’s draconian national security law. Imposed on the supposedly autonomous territory by the Chinese government, the law made it a crime to call for democracy, leading to numerous jail sentences.

Last year, the Hong Kong authorities gave themselves still more powers to suppress dissent by passing another law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Already, police have used the new law to arrest over 300 people, including for such trivial offences as wearing T-shirts with protest slogans.

Democracy movement ruthlessly suppressed

The heady days of Hong Kong’s vibrant youth-led democracy movement, which erupted into large-scale protests in 2019, are a distant memory. It’s been so long now that some of those jailed have been freed from prison at the end of their sentences. But the authorities are determined to keep persecuting the most high-profile activists.

Wong’s case exemplifies the authorities’ determination to silence prominent voices. The young activist is the movement’s most famous faces. He’s been repeatedly jailed for protest-related offences going back to 2017, and has now spent over four years in prison either serving sentences or awaiting further trials. He’s now charged with conspiring to collude with foreign forces, for allegedly working with exiled democracy activists to urge international sanctions on China, a crime under the national security law.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Lai’s trial continues. The former media owner used his Apple Daily newspaper to support the democracy movement, until the authorities forced it to close in 2021. Like Wong, Lai has already received several sentences, but his current drawn-out trial is on the more serious charges of colluding with foreign forces and conspiring to publish seditious materials.

Lai, who also holds British citizenship, has been held in solitary confinement since December 2020. He’s 77 years old and in poor health, and his family are concerned that in such conditions he might not withstand the fierce heat of another summer. The authorities clearly intend for him to die in jail.

Tradition of dissent crushed

The Hong Kong of today is unrecognisable from the country once promised. When the UK handed the territory over to China in 1997, it was under a treaty in which the Chinese state committed to maintaining its separate political system for 50 years. This included guarantees to uphold civic freedoms. But China has unilaterally torn up that agreement and is determined to make Hong Kong indistinguishable from the totalitarian mainland.

On top of criminalising thousands of protesters, the authorities have thoroughly suppressed a once vibrant media. Hong Kong now stands at 140 out of 180 countries on Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index; in 2018, before the current intensive crackdown began, it was in 70th place. Recently, journalists have been subjected to a systematic campaign of anonymous harassment and intimidation. Authorities have started to target journalists and media companies for supposedly random tax audits.

In these conditions, many civil society groups, political parties and media houses have had no choice but to shut down, while international media have been forced to relocate. In April, it was the turn of Hong Kong’s oldest and biggest pro-democracy party, the Democratic Party, to close. Long a moderate voice that was careful not to speak out against China, it had nonetheless recently received warnings from Chinese state officials.

The timing reveals the authorities’ desire for absolute control. The next election for the Legislative Council, Hong Kong’s parliament, is due in December, and in democracies, parties gear up rather than close down ahead of elections. But most Legislative Council seats aren’t directly elected and only pro-China candidates are allowed to stand. With this latest party closure, the authorities are evidently intent on denying even the prospect of token opposition.

In the face of the crackdown, some democracy activists have managed to escape into exile, but there’s no safety there, since China is the world’s number one transnational repressor. In 2023 and 2024, the authorities placed a bounty on the heads of 19 exiled activists, offering rewards for their capture.

Hong Kong authorities have stripped exiles of passports, while police have targeted their families for questioning. May saw a further escalation, when police arrested the father and brother of US-based exile Anna Kwok, one of the 19 with a price on their heads.

Ever-growing control

The Chinese state’s reach now extends to the most trivial aspects of daily life. Pro-China informants report people who fall foul of laws, and there’s seemingly no act of rebellion too small to escape official notice. In June, Hong Kong police warned people not to download a mobile phone game developed in Taiwan on the grounds it was secessionist. Teachers – who must deliver a pro-China curriculum – have been instructed not to attend 4 July events organised by the US consulate, and to discourage students attending. Education minister Christine Choi Yuk-lin recently warned of the dangers of book fairs and other acts of ‘soft resistance’ in schools.

The Chinese state now holds all the cards in Hong Kong. But Hong Kong’s story isn’t just about a small territory’s loss of freedom: it’s a warning to the world about what happens when authoritarianism advances unchecked. As Wong faces the prospect of life imprisonment for the crime of calling for democracy and Lai withers in solitary confinement, the international community must review its commitment to democracy. The very least Hong Kong’s underground and exiled activists deserve is international solidarity and support to ensure their safety against attacks. As their struggle continues, the world shouldn’t look away.

Andrew Firmin is CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report.

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