Dozens of Hong Kong democrats are having to adapt to a life without liberty, long before they even get to argue their innocence against subversion charges in court.

The 36 activists and politicians are coping in their own ways, such as by writing to their loved ones for emotional support.

For Southern district councilor Tiffany Yuen, selling off her home electric appliances, dishes, utensils and games has become a necessity, in order to pay HK$400 (US$52) every day for meals catered by licensed providers outside the detention center, according to a video uploaded by her friends.

To support life in incarceration, Yuen needs to save all the money she can, and that means ending the rental contract on her home as well, her friends say.

Tuen Mun district councilor Sam Cheung, also a lyric writer, has written to his pregnant wife. He is sorry for failing to keep by her side, he says, his regret evident in words penned like the verses of a song.

Activist Ventus Lau was finally going to cut his hair in detention and looked forward to a new hairstyle, his girlfriend Emilia Wong said after visiting him.

Lau would write to her every day, she said, with some of the letters running into four pages. The letters talked about his life inside, the food and his thoughts after reading books.

Emotions would well up in him when night came. Lau admitted that he feared the chance of being locked up for the next five years, and all he could do now was to enjoy the 15-minute meeting each day with Wong. He once joked that he might not be able to recognize future porn models, she said.

“Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, meanwhile, is still holding out hope of being released on bail. On top of the subversion charge, he also faces prosecution for unauthorized assembly relating to a protest on Aug. 18, 2019. He will appeal for bail again in the subversion case on March 29, as a judgment is due on April 1 for the other case.

Leung is getting visits from a party colleague, League of Social Democrats chair Avery Ng, at the Lai Chi Kok detention center. Ng said he would try to see Leung as much as possible, but party members including himself were facing multiple charges and might have to meet inside prison. Ng urged the public to write more letters to political prisoners.

Derek Chan, the league’s vice chair, recalled a poem Leung wrote for Hongkongers. In Leung’s words, “prison walls cannot block the lights of justice, nor can iron windows stop the winds of freedom.”

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