They said Hong Kong needed to stand up to what they saw as increasing interference from mainland China, whose authoritarian regime is at odds with a rules-based system in Hong Kong that safeguards civil liberties. However, the detention by Chinese agents of Hong Kong book sellers deemed offensive to China’s leadership has prompted fears that those values are eroding away. We’re up against the world’s largest authoritarian regime,” Mr. Wong said in an interview on Wednesday. Mr. Law and several other young participants in the 2014 protests have applied to the authorities to run in Legislative Council elections in September. Thursday’s guilty verdict puts Mr. Law’s candidacy in doubt because according to Hong Kong law, a candidate is disqualified if sentenced to more than three months in prison or imprisoned on the date of election.

Source: International New York Times July 21, 2016 04:07 UTC