Albert Ho is re-arrested, 10 days after his brother was arrested and one day after three more Hong Kongers were jailed over seditious books!

Albert Ho (second from left of the quintet in the above photo) 

and co in freer times -- specifically, July 1st, 2018

 

Another day, another arrest of a political activist by the Hong Kong police.  Today, it was 71-year-old Albert Ho, a lawyer by trade who's a former head of the Democratic Party and even a former Chief Executive candidate.  Today's arrest was not his first by a long chalk; and, in fact, I had forgotten he was not behind bars as he had spent more than a year in detention on a subversion charge before being let out on bail for medical treatment for lung cancer.

 

As per a report in The Guardian: "The judge who granted bail told Ho that if he committed any acts endangering national security “his bail will be revoked and he won’t be able to receive any kind of private medical care”."  Well, apparently, he's deemed to have done so by having dinner with friends (who happen to be fellow political figures) in public; with the authorities suspected that in doing so, he had been "perverting the course of justice due to allegedly interfering with witnesses while he was on court bail"!

 

Albert Ho's latest arrest comes 10 days after the arrest of his brother, Frederick Ho, who happens to be the lawyer of Elizabeth Tang along with Elizabeth Tang's sister, Marilyn.  For the record: Frederick Ho and Marilyn Tang are currently out on bail, along with Elizabeth Tang, even while Elizabeth Tang's husband, Lee Cheuk-yan, is not.  And yes, there are connections too between Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan, in that the two men are, among other things, co-founders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (i.e., the organizers of the (previously) annual June 4th candlelight vigils at Victoria Park).      

 

The AFP's Xinqi Su provided a handy chart linking these five individuals.  And it's worth noting that Hong Kong can feel like a small world in terms of the personal and professional connections certain people have with one another as well as Hong Kong pro-democracy politicians and political activists often being so accessible that even a small potato like me can be on nodding terms, and sometimes even friends, with a number of them.  Re the last bit: And that's why the arrests, incarceration, silencing, etc. of many of these personalities are blows that can feel personal on top of being seen as blows in general to Hong Kong's future and hopes.

More than by the way, it's worth noting that in January, pro-Beijing mouthpiece Ta Kung Pao had called for the revoking of Albert Ho’s bail after he was photographed meeting (for dinner) with various pro-democracy figures who, undoubtedly, were also personal friends. This is the same Ta Kung Pao whose attacks look to guide the authorities in terms of who they should target (next or soon).  

 

Another ridiculously influential pro-Beijing media outlet is Wen Wei Po and it was this latter pro-Beijing mouthpiece that attacked a pop-up store at a "yellow economic circle" event which has led to those behind the stall being sentenced yesterday to up to 10 months for publishing and selling "seditious" books about the anti-extradition-turned-pro-democracy protests.  In view of only 400 copies of the books, the sentences really do seem incredibly harsh.

 

From a Hong Kong Free Press article: "According to local media, the designated national security magistrate of the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts said the case was about more than spreading seditious messages on social media as it involved designing, producing and printing the publication in question."  Truly, the national security magistrate(s) seem to believe that books have incredible power!

 

From Razven, who was in court yesterday to hear the sentencing: The "[d]efence [was] asking [the] judge to also consider the different levels of involvement of all 3 defendants, with [the[ defence claiming that D3 (wife of D1) came up with most of it, D1's chronic health conditions and D2 was only partially involved in the whole thing".  As he concluded: "Looks like the wife is throwing herself onto the grenade so that her ill, wheelchair bound husband and D2 (Pastor) get a lighter sentence."     

And so it proved: with independent outlet Free HKMedia founder, "Pastor" Allan Keung (who I've only ever seen in a pastor's outfit), sentenced to eight months behind bars by Principal Magistrate Peter Law; his co-defendant and stall owner, Alex Lee, handed a prison term of five months; and Lee's wife, Connie Chan, getting the longest prison term -- of 10 months.  

 

The sacrifices that continue to be made for others by more than one Hong Konger.  For their loved ones, for other (pro-democracy) Hong Kongers.  Some of whom are one and the same.  Truly, Hong Kong has a lot of honourable, admirable people... sadly, in jail. :(