• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Democracy at Risk

Hong Kong Democracy Leaders Plead Not Guilty in Umbrella Movement Trial

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
11/19/18
in Democracy at Risk, World
Thousands of students and civilians staged sit-in at the heart of the Hong Kong Island for 79 days during the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

Hong Kong Umbrella Movement. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Three leading Hong Kong democracy campaigners pleaded not guilty on Monday to public nuisance charges over their involvement in massive rallies calling for political reform, as room for opposition in the semi-autonomous city shrinks under an assertive China.

The pioneering trio is among nine activists all facing public nuisance charges for their participation in the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests. The charges are based on colonial-era law and carry jail terms of up to seven years.

Sociology professor Chan Kin-man, 59, law professor Benny Tai, 54, and Baptist minister Chu Yiu-ming, 74, founded the “Occupy Central” movement in 2013 and joined with the student-led Umbrella Movement which brought parts of the city to a standstill for months, calling for free elections for the city’s leader.

The activists were welcomed outside court by hundreds of supporters shouting: “Peaceful resistance! I wanted real universal suffrage!”

Prosecutor Andrew Bruce argued that the mass protests had caused a “common injury done to the public,” who had been affected by the blockage of major roads.

He accused the trio of taking part in and supporting the demonstration “by way of unlawful obstruction of public places and roads.”

Hong Kong democracy leaders plead not guilty to public nuisance charges over their involvement in the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests calling for political reformhttps://t.co/uwwOi1APfK pic.twitter.com/sLUUDop13w

— AFP news agency (@AFP) November 19, 2018

‘Unreasonable Charges’

Occupy Central called for the occupation of Hong Kong’s business district if the public was not given a fair vote for the city’s leader, who is appointed by a pro-Beijing committee.

It was overtaken by the student movement that exploded in September 2014 when police fired tear gas on gathering crowds.

The Occupy trio urged people to join what became known as the Umbrella Movement as protesters used umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas and pepper spray.

The movement failed to win reform and since then activists have been prosecuted, with some jailed.

The court was shown video clips by the prosecution Monday afternoon which included a press conference from 2013 in which the trio explained the Occupy Central movement.

In one clip Tai said the success of the movement “hinges on civic awakening” but added that civil disobedience must be “non-violent”.

Speaking outside court after the first day of the trial, Chan said the activists had pleaded not guilty because the charges were “unreasonable.”

The trio facese three charges each of conspiracy to cause public nuisance, incitement to cause public nuisance and incitement to incite public nuisance.

Chan warned that if the case was successful it would encroach on freedom of expression in Hong Kong.

“I think this lawsuit is not just one faced by the nine of us…Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy and rule of law are also being tried in this lawsuit,” added Tai.

Chu pointed out that the clips shown by the prosecution had highlighted the group’s “emphasis on peace and non-violence.”

‘Chilling Prosecution’

In an op-ed for the New York Times Monday, Tai said there had been an “onslaught against free speech” in Hong Kong in recent years.

His comments came after Chan said the accused would become stronger through imprisonment at a farewell talk Wednesday night to a full house of more than 600 people at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he has been teaching for over two decades.

Hong Kong has been governed under a “one country, two systems” arrangement since it was handed back to China by Britain in 1997.

It allows far greater civil liberties than on the Chinese mainland, but there are growing fears those freedoms are being eroded.

Ahead of the trial, rights groups had urged authorities to drop what Amnesty International called the “chilling prosecution” of the nine activists, a group that includes lawmakers, student leaders, and pro-democracy party campaigners.

Man-kei Tam, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, warned there would be a “real danger” of more prosecutions for peaceful activism if the case was successful.

Human Rights Watch said the prosecutions raised further questions about how far authorities are trying to “politicize the courts.”

The trial at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court is expected to last 20 days.

China Will Pay Price for Banning Pro-Independence Hong Kong Party

Share5Tweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Chinese President Xi Jinping
World

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

by Staff Writer
September 22, 2023
People visit the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai
World

China Unveils New Operating System Amid US Tensions

by Staff Writer
July 6, 2023
A man holds US, Taiwan flags
Business

US and Taiwan Ink Trade Deal as China Issues Warning

by Staff Writer
June 2, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping
Opinion

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

by Baptiste Monnet
March 15, 2023
An AFP journalist views an example of a "deepfake" video manipulated using artificial intelligence.
Featured

Deepfake ‘News Anchors’ in Pro-China Footage: Research

by Staff Writer
February 13, 2023
A woman undergoing COVID test in China
Featured

Soaring Covid Cases Shine Light on China’s Healthcare Gap

by Staff Writer
January 11, 2023
Next Post
A displaced Iraqi family

Vulnerable Children in Iraq Most Likely to Fall Behind, UNICEF Warns

US President Donald Trump

Jeff Sessions' Firing Reveals How Far Trump Goes to Subvert Democracy

Recommended

Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Air France flights

Niger Bans French Aircraft From Its Airspace: Aviation Authority 

September 25, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China Announces ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Syria

September 22, 2023
Man holding up a colored LGBT flag

France Sets Up Embassy Fund to Defend LGBTQ Rights

September 19, 2023
US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

US Authorities Seize Artworks Allegedly Stolen by Nazis

September 19, 2023
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference

Japan PM to Replace Foreign and Defense Ministers: Reports

September 12, 2023

Opinion

Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
‘Deaths of Despair:’ Why Are US Suicides on the Rise?

An Inspired Choice to Lead the CDC

June 13, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis speaks at the Republican Jewish Coalition Annual Leadership Meeting in Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 19, 2022.

Florida Man Channels Benito Mussolini

June 13, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post