Foreign governments criticize Hong Kong’s sentencing of 45 activists. Beijing defends it

Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Forty-five prominent activists in Hong Kong have been sentenced to up to 10 years in jail, sparking criticism from foreign governments and rights groups. The democracy advocates were among 47 people charged under a Beijing-imposed national security law in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to pick opposition candidates. In the city’s biggest national security case to date, they were accused of agreeing to veto government-proposed budgets indiscriminately after potentially securing a legislative majority to force a dissolution of the legislature and then the ouster of the city’s leader. The case involved pro-democracy figures across the spectrum. But Beijing said criticism from certain Western countries was unwarranted.