Lai and nine others were charged with incitement to take part in an unauthorized assembly, for their roles in a protest on October 1, 2019, when they walked down a road with thousands of others.

Lai, 73, was sentenced to 14 months in prison. He is currently serving a separate 14-month jail term for other convictions earlier this year also related to unauthorized rallies in 2019, when Hong Kong residents took to the streets in the biggest challenge to Beijing since the city was handed from British to Chinese control in 1997.

With the two sentences combined, Lai will serve a total of 20 months behind bars.

He is also being investigated under the city’s sweeping national security law, imposed last year, for colluding with foreign powers to intervene in the Hong Kong affairs.

Authorities have arrested and charged most of the city’s pro-democracy advocates, who also include Joshua Wong, a student leader during 2014 protests.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement called on Hong Kong authorities to drop charges filed against people merely for standing for election or for expressing dissenting views.

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Police said these people have disregards to peace process in the city.

The police made the remarks during a press briefing on the damages caused during the weekend’s protests, as anti-government protesters again blocked roads with barricades, set fire to metro stations, smashed shops and public facilities, and attacked police with petrol bombs and bricks.

Kwok Ka-Chuen, chief superintendent of the police public relations, said protesters’ acts had caused several MTR stations to shut down, paralyzing traffic and jeopardizing social order, which were in complete disregard of most Hong Kong residents’ wish for peace.

Since protests erupted in June, the Hong Kong police have arrested 5,947 people for suspected unlawful assembly, riots, possession of offensive weapons, and arson, said the police.

Meanwhile China has banned US military ships and plane from stopping over in Hong Kong and announced sanctions on American non-profits for supporting a pro-democracy movement in the city rattled by anti-government protests since June.

At a daily press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the measures were taken in response to the laws related to Hong Kong passed by the US last week, reports Efe news.

US President Donald Trump signed into law the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, which allows Washington to sanction Chinese officials.

Hua said it was a “serious violation of international law and the basic norms governing international relations and interferes in China’s internal affairs”.

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She said The Governor behaved in an unprecedented and most reprehensible manner. There is no doubt that he acted under the instructions of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. The BJP’s prepoll alliance did not hold because of its own arrogance and over-confidence.

Every effort was made to blatantly sabotage the three-Party alliance government formation, but we appealed to the Supreme Court and the Modi-Shah Government was totally exposed. Let me assure you, we three parties are united in our resolve to defeat the BJP’s sordid manipulations.

She said It is clear that the Modi-Shah government is bankrupt of decency and is clueless on how to manage the grave problems facing the country. The economic crisis is deepening by the day. Growth is declining, unemployment is growing, and investment is not happening. There is worsening distress among farmers, traders and small and medium businesses. Consumption, especially in rural areas, is falling. Exports are declining.

And prices of essential food commodities are rising, causing hardship to households. Instead of tackling the problem, the Modi-Shah Government is busy fudging statistics or, indeed, not publishing them at all! The public sector has been put on the block, in all probability, to be sold off to a few favoured business people. What will be the fate of the thousands of workers at those enterprises? Lakhs upon lakhs of salaried and ordinary families are worried about their deposits in banks.

Sonia said the Prime Minister and his Home Minister persist in pursuing 2 divisive policies. These issues, like the one relating to amendments in the citizenship law, strike at the very foundations of our Constitution. It is sheer hypocrisy on the part of the Modi-Shah establishment to celebrate November 26th as Constitution Day while deceitfully subverting this sacred document day in and day out! The whole of the northeast is in turmoil because of these amendments.

And because the NRC project implemented by the BJP government in Assam, monitored by the Supreme Court, has not fulfilled the RSS-BJP expectations and propaganda, there is now clamour in the ruling party for a fresh NRC in that state. The Home Minister is also speaking of unleashing an NRC in the entire country – a step that will only lead to more fear and panic.

Three months ago, democracy was again subverted when article 370 was erased (read down) under the blatantly false promise of a new beginning in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh. But the ground realities are completely different from the fictitious images conjured up by the Modi-Shah government.

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