Friday, May 7, 2021

Hong Kong: A New Phase of Suffering and Patience

In Hong Kong, the Repression against the pro-Democracy movement goes on, through the relentless machinery of the Chinese Communist PartyState's bureaucracy and its implementation and enforcement of codified decrees (which has been called "Lawfare"). Arrests continue to be made on alleged violations of "national security." Meanwhile, convictions and heavy sentences are still being handed down in relation to the 2019 protests.

The remarkable young activist Joshua Wong - already serving a prison term for one protest - had his sentence extended on a further conviction for another protest. He also faces charges under the new National Security Law.

He may end up spending a long time behind bars as Beijing continues the crackdown which is dismantling what was left of Hong Kong's autonomous status. My hope and prayer is that Joshua Wong (following in the tradition of the practice of Non-Violence) will endure suffering in prison with hope, and allow it to form him as a mature, magnanimous, and wise statesman for the future. 

There will be much need of him, and others of his generation, to be leaders in the future when, God willing, the time will be ripe for Hong Kongers (and others) to attain political freedom.