Notes

Scream to a whisper. Today, Hong Kong’s High Court found 14 pro-democracy activists guilty of “subversion.” Their case marks the broadest use yet of the National Security Law imposed by the Chinese Communist Party after mass protests in the enclave in 2020. The 14 belong to a group of 47 activists charged with trying to “overthrow” the government for organizing an unofficial primary election four years ago. By now, almost 300 people have been arrested under the law, with Hong Kong officials citing a nearly 100 percent conviction rate for those charged. In October 2021, Glacier Kwong explained the ways Beijing was intensifying its repression of Hong Kong’s democracy movement—closing the city’s last independent newspaper, almost completely stifling dissent, and creating a climate of fear.