Professor Michael Davis, a US-based senior fellow at the University of Hong Kong, was commenting after the politicians and activists were each charged with conspiracy to commit subversion yesterday.
They were due to appear at Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Monday morning.
Davis said he couldn’t see how it’s in the interests of people on any side of the political spectrum for Hong Kong to be viewed as a hardline authoritarian regime.
The pro-democracy politicians and activists – who were arrested last month – are among 55 arrested on suspicion of “subverting state power” for their involvement in the primary elections last July – that were intended to choose candidates for Legco polls that never took place.
The government accuses the pan-democrats of holding the primaries to try and win enough seats in the legislature to “paralyse the government”.