Beijing's 'lawfare' against dissent in Hong Kong unites fractious opposition
The jailing of the trio is just the latest in a series of ongoing acts of "lawfare" by Beijing against dissent in Hong Kong, including the recent legal action to disqualify six duly elected pro-democracy legislators. It continues the very disturbing trend of the politicization of Hong Kong's court system, with the government pushing the courts to serve Beijing's political agenda. This is bad news for the future of the rule of law in Hong Kong, and will ultimately have implications not just for political dissenters but for business confidence in a city which seeks to distinguish itself from the rest of China almost solely on the basis of its independent, transparent and predictable justice system. All three of those attributes are now in doubt.
