This year, watching protesters of all ages going into prison one after another has made my heart very heavy. When they first stepped into the cell, I guess their feeling was similar to mine at the time: a mix of anxiety caused by the unknown environment, the fear of facing a bleak future, the sadness of being separated from friends and family, and the rage due to the unjust system. 12 of these protesters are even being jailed in the mainland’s prison. Their dire situation is just unthinkable.

Those who care about them can only imagine how hard it must be for them but cannot do anything to help them. They would therefore feel deflated, helpless, and even blame themselves for being useless. We can foresee there will be more people being sent to prison for fighting for democracy and justice for Hong Kong in the future.

Perhaps that is the price Hongkongers need to pay to get democracy. Those in power and with vested interests will not accept people’s demand for democracy so easily. Democracy is not cheap. How many people of different places have to spend an awfully long time and use their blood, tears, freedom, and even life to “buy” democracy. It was only Hongkongers, including me, were too naive and believed the CCP would allow us to build a democratic Hong Kong within autocratic China. Maybe we are were utilitarian and thought that we did not need to pay a high price in exchange for the priceless democracy and justice.

Now I understand. These people who went to prison for democracy and justice have used their personal freedom to pay for Hong Kong’s democracy and justice. When one more person goes to prison, a little bit more debt of Hong Kong’s democracy has been paid. They are doing so for all the Hongkongers who love Hong Kong and pursue democracy and justice. No one knows how much debt we still have to pay for Hong Kong’s democracy and how many people have to go to prison to clear this debt. But judging by the course of democratization of other places, this debt would one day be cleared.

If we accept this perspective, we might be able to have a more positive mentality when we see the protesters getting into prison. What the Hongkongers, who support democracy and justice, must do now is not to feel sad about those going to prison and lose the strength to continue; instead, they should pick themselves up as soon as possible and think of a way to support them. They should use different methods to continue the protest outside of the prison so that the price paid by those in prison is not in vain and allows Hong Kong to get democracy sooner.

I also hope those in prison would see their experience as a baptism. Baptism is a kind of etiquette in Catholicism or Christianity. This is not just a mere ceremony in terms of faith. Without going into details of the meaning in theology, the baptism of believers means they died, buried, and resurrected with the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism might not create any magical change in the believer’s body, but the decision to be baptized is an important decision in life, a decision that sets one’s intention and to declare to the world one would follow Jesus Christ for life. One is to complete the mission entrusted by the Lord, which is to bring reconciliation, the reconciliation between humans and God, and the reconciliation of injustice between humans. So a believer being baptized is a transformation of spirit.

When a protester goes into prison, stays there, then leaves, it is like going through a baptism. No one volunteers to go into prison, but if we know this is what we have to prepare for when we fight for democracy and justice, then to some extent, this is also a choice. Going to prison with your head held high is to announce to the world: for Hong Kong’s democracy and justice, we are willing to sacrifice our personal freedom to pay for the democratic debt of Hong Kong. We want nothing for ourselves but to buy back the democracy that belonged to all the Hongkongers. Because of that, there will be no shame in going into prison. Instead, those who used the law in a devious way to send us to prison should be ashamed of themselves.

There is no freedom in prison; the food is bad, the environment is terrible, and we are separated from family and friends. But what we gain is time. The most unbearable thing in prison is boredom. Therefore if we can make the most of the spare time and peace, and use this as a chance to train our body, mind, and soul, then the time will not be wasted. Prison is actually a good place to study and reflect because there is not much interruption inside, and one can focus on absorbing knowledge and thinking. When you leave the prison, perhaps those in power would regret having put you inside, as not only have you not given up protesting, but you also have stronger fighting stamina.

When more people become more determined, having been baptized by prison in the fight for Hong Kong democracy, the Hong Kong democracy movement will not be extinguished by suppression but become bigger and stronger. If only those in power read more about history, they would have known this is bound to happen.

(Benny Tai Yiu-ting is a Hong Kong legal scholar and democracy activist.)

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