World Uyghur Congress condemns arrest of democracy supporters in China

The World Uyghur Congress on Tuesday condemned the Chinese government’s arrest of up to 10 pro-democracy supporters.

Pro-democracy activists were charged with “conspiracy of subversion” under the city’s 2020 national security law. In July 2020, 47 former pro-democracy MPs and opposition activists organized a primary election to identify the strongest candidates for the pan-democratic list in the Hong Kong Legislative Council elections to be held in September 2020.

In a post on X, WUC President Turgunjan Alawdun said, “Jailing prominent pro-democracy figures who risk their freedom for democracy is critical as China continues to restrict key fundamental rights and civil rights. allows society to shrink, all we should worry about is us.”

The WUC president added, “Instead of welcoming Chinese leaders with open arms, democratic nation-states need to deal with the erosion of the global rule of law and honest actions to silence dissidents under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Is.”

WUC has appealed to democratic countries to raise their voice against the arrest of pro-democracy activists.

Beijing argued that the law was necessary to protect the economic success of the Asian financial hub, while critics condemned it as signaling the end of the “one country, two systems” arrangement. The formula, established when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997, was intended to preserve freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China for 50 years, Radio Free Asia reported.

Meanwhile, the prosecution said the opposition activist’s attempt to gain majority was a “conspiracy” to weaken the government and take control of the Legislative Council.

According to Radio Free Asia, democratic activist Benny Tai was arrested for 10 years for organizing the 2020 primary election. Another activist, Joshua Wong, was arrested for four years, while activist Owen Chow was sentenced to seven years in prison.