The draconian sentences handed down today in Hong Kong are yet another grave injustice and assault on the democratic aspirations of its people. Wrongly imprisoning academics, activists, and opposition leaders for exercising their right to peaceful political participation and free speech is not the act of a government that values stability or justice. Instead, it is the desperate attempt of a regime that fears its own people and the power of their collective voices. It is also a betrayal of the promises made when the British handed over governance to China, and a warning of what Chinese authority means for any people wishing to remain free. The bravery of the Hong Kong 47 – and of countless others who refuse to abandon the fight for freedom and democracy – demonstrates a truth that the Chinese Communist Party cannot suppress: That the will of the people cannot be jailed, silenced, or extinguished. I stand with the people of Hong Kong.