A Hong Kong court has sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison. Lai, who holds a British passport, was also found guilty of attempted rebellion under a separate law dating back to the colonial era.
A colonial-era law! Why wasn’t this law, which existed since the colonial period, repealed later? The first thing that comes to mind is that those in power thought: “Let this law stay as it is; it’s not useful today, but it might be useful tomorrow.” And indeed it was…
Jimmy Lai’s misfortune is that demands for democracy have lost their former importance. Since the Western invasion of Iraq, they have brought chaos instead of democracy everywhere they go, so these demands no longer have any credibility. A similar thing happened in Pakistan, and former President Khan was sent to prison. Especially since the US, under the guise of democracy, has caused the ruin of every country it has invaded, any demand for democracy from the West is now perceived as support for chaos.
The Hong Kong courts, which are under Chinese influence, could not have ruled otherwise. Lai and those who support democracy should have opposed Hong Kong’s handover to China, but it’s too late now. Unfortunately, the West has no chance of helping Lai because of its poor track record on democracy worldwide.
I wish it hadn’t happened and that democracy could still remain the ideal form of government.