No one exempt from the law in Hong Kong: China Daily editorial

The convictions of Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Agnes Chow Ting and Ivan Lam Long-yin for their roles in an unlawful assembly near the police headquarters in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region last year and the sentences they received on Wednesday have driven home the message that organizing, inciting and participating in such illegal activities will not be tolerated.

The political radicals in Hong Kong have been counting on external pressure and leveraging foreign interference including "sanctions" to promote their anti-government agenda in the SAR, particularly last year and early this year. They defied and challenged the law enforcement authorities and showed contempt for the law, assuming they could walk away with impunity with the backing of their foreign patrons. For instance, Wong has been colluding with anti-China Washington politicians over the years, becoming the favorite foot soldier of Marco Rubio, one of the most prominent China hawks in Washington, and played a leading role in persuading US politicians including Rubio to get sanctions imposed on Hong Kong.

Wednesday's court rulings, which handed the trio jail sentences of seven to 13 and a half months, showed that Hong Kong's well-established rule of law is strong enough to withstand any foreign pressure intended to bend it for political reasons. It is a miscalculation of the political fanatics to think that they can have their way by leveraging foreign interference, and violate Hong Kong laws without having to bear the legal consequences.

Hong Kong is governed by the rule of law, and is a special administrative region of China, a country that cannot be manipulated or coerced into trading its national interests. The introduction of the National Security Law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on June 30, which underscored China's determination to safeguard its interests, has added to the legal arsenal of the SAR. It has effectively plugged the legal loopholes the political fanatics had been exploiting to collude with their foreign patrons in promoting their illegal causes.

The jailing of the trio by the court in accordance with Hong Kong laws also suggests that the fundamental legal principle of "equality before the law", which underpins the SAR's rule of law, remains solid and robust. The political zealots in Hong Kong and their foreign patrons have been peddling a kind of exceptionalism seeking to place the leading figures in the opposition camp above the law. They assert they should be spared legal accountability for their words and deeds simply because they are said and done in the name of "democracy". They must be rid of their delusion now.

Wednesday's rulings have once again made clear that political affiliation or the claim to a "democratic halo" will not shield anyone from legal responsibility.