During the feverish anti-China movement in 2019, the police opposed the Civil Human Rights Front’s application to launch a march on China’s National Day on October 1, but a large number of people still took to the streets on that day. The case began on Monday (May 17), and the defendants admitted to the charges and were likely to be sentenced to prison, with the judge postponing sentencing for 10 days until next Friday.
A number of defendants, including Albert Ho, said they had no regrets about the possibility of losing their freedom because they took to the streets that day, hoping to defend the civil rights of Hong Kong people to speak out peacefully.
In early June 2019, the anti-Send-China movement erupted, with the pro-democracy United Platform and Civil Human Rights Front (Civil Human Rights Front) repeatedly launching marches and rallies involving more than 1 million people. By mid-August of that year, the anti-Send-China movement turned hot, with the police repeatedly opposing the Civil Human Rights Front’s applications for marches and rallies.
10 cross-generation pro-democracy cadres were charged for the October 1 march the year before
In 2019, the year of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the pro-democracy camp applied for a “No National Day, Only National Mourning” march on October 1, 2019, which was opposed by the police and the appeal was rejected.
Subsequently, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho, the Vice-Chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKASPDMC), Chan Ho-hwan, the then Vice-Convenor of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), and Leung Kwok-hung, a former Legislative Councillor of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), and other key figures of the democratic camp, announced to undertake the DAB’s 10-1 march, calling on the public to take to the streets and exercise their right to march and assemble under the Basic Law.
The 10 key figures of the pro-democracy camp participating in the 2019 10-1 march include 25-year-old Chan Ho-hwan, 64-year-old Lee Cheuk-yan, 65-year-old Leung Kwok-hung, 69-year-old Albert Ho, 73-year-old former Democratic Party Chairman Yeung Sum, 66-year-old former Legislative Councilor Ho Sau-lan, 44-year-old League of Social Democrats Secretary General Ng Man-yuen, 73-year-old One Media founder Lai Chi-ying, 60-year-old former Legislative Councilor and current District They were arrested last year and charged with organizing and knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly.
Each defendant pleaded guilty to the charges
The case involves 10 defendants who are the backbone of the “inter-generational” pro-democracy movement, aged from 25 to 73, and the trial began on Monday (May 17) in the District Court.
As the case of the 8-18 assembly and the 8-31 prayer march, which involved the anti-China movement, all the defendants were sentenced to imprisonment or suspended sentences, and Yang Sen and Albert Ho, who were sentenced to suspended sentences in this case, and whether other defendants will be sentenced to immediate imprisonment for the 10-1 march, are under the spotlight.
Albert Ho, Yeung Sum, Chan Ho-hwan, Ng Man-yuen and Choi Yiu-cheong were interviewed by the media before the court session on Monday morning. They stated that they would plead guilty to the charges in court and chanted “Fight for Freedom”; there are no thugs, only tyranny; peaceful demonstrations are not guilty, political persecution is shameful, release all political prisoners; Five Demands not One Less (five demands, one cannot be missing)” and other slogans for democracy and freedom.
Albert Ho said he did not regret the loss of freedom of law due to the march that day
Albert Ho said that the case involved the 10-1 march in 2019, and the police had already denied the march and rally applied by the FNM without discrimination since August of that year. He believed that the public had a strong hope that they could at least make their voices heard at that time, and he added that although the march was not launched in the name of the FNM on that day, everyone was adhering to the philosophy of the FNM since its establishment, to make their voices heard in a peaceful and orderly non-violent way.
Mr. Ho said, “Even though the march was not held in the name of the Democratic Front, we have inherited the tradition of the Front since its establishment in 2003, which is basically peaceful, rational, orderly and non-violent, and let the world see that Hong Kong people are still in such a bad environment and so strongly dissatisfied with the government, we are can rally in a peaceful and orderly manner.”
Mr. Albert Ho criticized the government for settling accounts after the autumn, so that the public to extinguish their voices, but he said he would admit responsibility, but also no regrets because the day of the march on the streets and the possibility of losing freedom, hoping to defend the civil rights of Hong Kong people to speak out peacefully.
I want to tell you that even though I also estimate that we will lose our freedom for (2019) October 1 or October 20, or the June 4 rally and march. But we say with everyone, we will not regret, because we lose freedom mainly to enable more people to peacefully and orderly voice and exercise their civil rights, we are absolutely righteous.”
Chan Ho-hwan calls on Hong Kong people not to give up the fight for democracy and freedom
The first defendant in the case, convenor of the FSD, Chan Ho-hwan, said he wore an Avengers (Avengers) jacket to court today with a special meaning, hoping to sit in jail (prison) for five years and bring everyone back.
The Civil Front was earlier accused by the police of allegedly violating the “Societies Ordinance” and asked to respond to questions about the funds coming from the capital, Chen Haohuan indicated that he would not respond to the police one by one, Police Commissioner Deng Bingqiang said that he would not rule out the next step of law enforcement action.
He also called on Hong Kong people not to give up the fight for democracy and freedom, and to “donate money to the loopholes to voice out” (find all the ways to voice out) on June 4, 7-1 or other days this year.
Chen Haohuan said: “I have a sentence or two to say to the people of Hong Kong, that is, ‘the hell you are Hong Kong people, ah, top hard on’, and is not to give up the freedom of democracy, because this is the basic things we should do, the basic rights, we should not give up, I hope that everyone next either June 4 (day), or July 1 (day), or other days can ‘donate money to donate the loopholes to voice’, to defend our freedom, democracy and justice.”
Secretary of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China Tsai Yiu-cheong said he would face the charges frankly and wanted to share 16 words to the people of Hong Kong.
I only have 16 words I want to share with everyone, not to be overbearing, not to be subservient, to face frankly, the original heart does not change, the faith will live on.”
Wu Wenyuan worried about the deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong
Wu Wenyuan, secretary-general of the League of Social Democrats, said that compared to other cases of national security law faced by democrats, their case is insignificant, and he is worried whether the government will ban the Apple Daily or other media, he hopes to see so many media continue to operate today when freedom is regained.
Wu Wenyuan said: “Today’s Hong Kong whether it is political freedom, or media freedom are increasingly narrowed, I was just half serious, half joking (joking), if unfortunately I go to jail, or years of imprisonment, I am worried about you all now with (photo) camera, camera friends, I do not know when they come out (out of prison), that is, will There will not be so many microphone cards here, I can only send you Hong Kong people ‘hold on’, but also send you media connoisseurs ‘top’.”
Criticizing the authorities for creating a chilling effect but not rewriting history
Wu Wenyuan said in an interview with the Voice of America that most of the key figures of the pro-democracy camp have been imprisoned or are about to be sentenced to jail in a number of cases involving the anti-China movement and the National Security Law, which he believes is an attempt by the authorities to create a chilling effect, but cannot rewrite history.
Wu Wenyuan said: “This is a very obvious cicada effect, but I think the cicada effect has been so cold that people have gotten used to the winter, so those cicadas should know how to fly again. I believe that Hong Kong people, even if you are in this totalitarian society, if it (the government) is really going to call you to where 7-1, June 4, or the big day you have to stay at home, then, to some extent, there is no way, but at the same time this is not rewritten history, that is, people will remember.”
Yang Sen indicates civil disobedience for the right to peaceful demonstration and assembly
Yang Sen, former chairman of the Democratic Party, said he had four cases on the table, including this one, including the 8-31 prayer march case that was sentenced to eight months in prison and one year’s probation in mid-April, as well as the June 4, 2019, unauthorized assembly on October 20, he said frankly that he had been prepared to be sentenced to prison, and he made it clear that he was using civil disobedience to fight for the right of Hong Kong people to demonstrate and assemble peacefully.
Yang Sen said: “I do not have too many ups and downs psychologically, I have been prepared to sit (jail), you see me gum glasses are equipped, in the ‘stone wall flower’ all the things bought. So we can do it will face this criminal responsibility, because we know the reason for breaking the law are standing out, is because we want to use civil disobedience, to insist for Hong Kong people as well as fight for this peaceful demonstration and assembly is very important, very important, is the basic human rights, can not say that the police do not issue a notice of non-objection, we are all silent.”
Yang Sen also called on the central government in Beijing as well as the Hong Kong SAR government, as far as possible to allow the public to express their grievances in a peaceful manner, he believes that there is no need for repression, no need to put tear gas, he criticized the Hong Kong government to use high-handed means, the press, education sector in all aspects of living in fear.
Yang Sen said that in the past, Hong Kong people in the British Hong Kong colonial era, there is not much democracy but the public has a very clear freedom, will not live in fear, he questioned why in a place where the rise of a powerful country, Hong Kong would have the birth of fear, he stressed that let the public to express their views peacefully, in fact, more beneficial to the governance of the Hong Kong government.
I want to emphasize the point that the government allowing the public to go to peaceful demonstrations and rallies is something that can actually help the government,” said Yeung Sum. Because it has so many public grievances, it (the public) to come forward to tell the government where you are wrong, what is not enough, if the government can respond immediately, in fact, is to help the government solve the problem, so they (the government) do not complain about those demonstrating people, bringing the government’s trouble, it is actually to help the government tell where your fault, that is, if an enlightened government, it immediately respond has Solve the problem, the community can be very calm, so the Central Committee wants Hong Kong calm it, the most important so that this (SAR) government is to listen to public opinion.”
Judge postponed to May 28 sentencing
The case was also heard earlier by Judge Wu Ya Wen, who heard the anti-Send-China movement’s 8-18 assembly and 8-31 prayer march. All 10 defendants pleaded guilty to one count of organizing an unauthorized assembly, which means they organized an unauthorized march in Hong Kong on Oct. 1, 2019.
Only Ng Man-yuen and Choi Yiu-cheong pleaded guilty to one count of participating in an unauthorized assembly, while the remaining eight defendants denied the charge and were not prosecuted by the prosecution and filed in court.
Chan Ho-hwan, Lee Cheuk-yan, Leung Kwok-hung and Albert Ho also pleaded guilty to one count of inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly. The prosecution’s case stated that in September 2019, the Democratic Front applied for a march on October 1, which was rejected by the police upon appeal. The risk of arrest for participation.
The case refers to the day of October 1, most of the defendants gathered outside the Sogo Department Store, some defendants hold a banner written “end dictatorship, return political power to the people”, each defendant in the front row to lead the crowd march. Some demonstrators shouted provocative slogans, including “Disband the police force, no time to lose”, while others threw eggs at a poster with the portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese flag near the Southorn Playground in Wanchai.
The case said Chan Ho-hwan then spoke that hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to have participated in civil disobedience, but the defendant has no intention to disband the masses. He also encouraged the crowd to “continue the struggle” and other defendants were present to show their support as the demonstrators marched to the Liaison Office.
The prosecution played a number of video clips of the crime in court on Monday afternoon, and will continue to play on Tuesday, the judge said that the defendants will then deal with bail matters, is expected to hear the defense plea next Monday (May 24), next Friday (May 28) sentencing, the defendants have been sentenced to prison in addition to Lee Cheuk-yan, Ho Sau Lan, Leung Kwok Hung and Lai Chi Ying, the remaining six defendants to the original bail The remaining six defendants will continue to be released on bail under their original conditions.
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