They can silence protests, remove us from the legislature and lock us up. But they will not win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers.— Joshua Wong Chi-fung (@joshuawongcf) Joshua Wong Chi-fung on Twitter | | | | | |
| | | | | Joshua Wong Chi-fung on Twitter “They can silence protests, remove us from the legislature and lock us up. But they will not win the hearts and ... | | | | ...HONG KONG LAW & CRIME POLITICS & PROTEST Joshua Wong & Nathan Law’s political party faces wipe-out, as it decries ‘abuse of judicial procedures’ 17 August 2017 19:24 Kris Cheng11 min read - FB - Twitter - Flattr - Reddit - Donate - - - The Demosisto party has said that the Hong Kong government is determined to put peaceful protesters behind bars in an effort to “mute all dissidents by abusing judicial procedures.”The party, co-founded by activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law, faces a uphill struggle to survive after the pair were sentenced to six and eight months in prison respectively for their role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement. Other members may also face jail soon.Photo: Tom Grundy/HKFP.Law and Wong had already completed community service sentences for their unlawful assembly convictions, but the Department of Justice sought a harsher sentence, insisting that they should be jailed.The party got off to a rocky start last year. But by September, Nathan Law was democratically elected as a lawmaker for the Hong Kong Island constituency. At 23, he was the youngest ever member of the legislature.Wong, at the time, was too young to run, since Hong Kong laws require candidates to be at least 21.Short-lived tenureBut Law’s tenure was abruptly cut short after nine months, as he was disqualified in July by the court following an interpretation of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s de facto constitution, demanding that lawmakers must take their oaths of office solemnly and accurately. The interpretation came after he took the oath, but it had a retroactive effect.Nathan Law taking oath. Photo: Stanley Leung/HKFP.Law may be asked by the Legislative Council to return more than HK$3 million in his wages and subsidies as lawmaker. If he cannot pay, he may have to declare bankruptcy.Just a month after the disqualification, Law and Wong were sentenced to jail. Since their sentences were over three months, they will not be able to run for election for five years – this includes the next District Council election in 2019 and Legislative Council election in 2020.Alex Chow, the former secretary-general of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, was also sentenced to seven months behind bars. He will be unable to attend his PhD programme at UC Berkeley, after finishing a masters’ degree at the London School of Economics.Police surrounded student protests at the Civic Square on September 27, 2014. File Photo: Occupy Central with Love and Peace.‘Indifference and arrogance’The trio stormed Civic Square on September 26, 2014, a closed forecourt outside government headquarters which has a symbolic history for protesters. A massive demonstration led by Wong against a controversial “brainwashing” patriotic education programme took place around the square in 2012.The 2014 incident came after class boycotts were held against a decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, which stated that Hong Kong’s chief executive candidates must be vetted before a popular election. The police later used tear gas to disperse thousands of demonstrators, and a 79-day protest occupying main roads around Hong Kong ensued.Despite weeks of protest, the Hong Kong and Beijing government did not back down on the restrictive proposal.The Occupy protests. File Photo: Julianne Yang.“Demosisto is of the opinion that the students had exhausted every possible means within the establishment before resorting to civil disobedience as an attempt to engage in a dialogue with the government,” a statement from the party after the judgement read.“It is a shame that the government responded to the demands for democracy with indifference and arrogance.”Comparison to rioting The party claimed that the Department of Justice – instead of simply asking for a review – compared the protests to a riot, raising disagreement over whether it was a non-violent protest.“[It] is an immense humiliation to all the participants in the Movement,” it said. “Nathan Law and Joshua Wong had completed their community service order duly, and have been serving Hong Kong citizens along with their political ideals genuinely in the [Legislative] Council and community.”“The government is determined to put peaceful protesters behind bars to mute all dissidents by abusing judicial procedures.”File photo: In-Media.Wong pleaded guilty to another case of criminal contempt relating to the Occupy protests in 2014, which may add more time to his jail term.Core members jailedAlongside the imprisonment of its leaders Wong and Law, prominent Demosisto member Ivan Lam was also jailed on Tuesday for 13 months. Another central figure Derek Lam could also receive a jail sentence in a separate case.“Since Xi Jinping’s rise to power, the Hong Kong government’s ever-growing restrictions on civil and political rights put many young dissidents behind the bars,” the party’s statement read. “For the sake of Hong Kong’s democracy, they can chain us but they can never imprison our determination.”File photo: In-Media.Continuing protestingBefore Thursday’s judgement, the High Court’s lobby was packed with some 500 supporters. Law said they have been smeared for using violence, though they had remained faithful to non-violent means.“Will you regret taking part in the Occupy protests?” Nathan Law asked. “No!” supporters chanted.“No matter what the outcome is today, our hearts are free,” Law added. They can silence protests, remove us from the legislature and lock us up. But they will not win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers.— Joshua Wong Chi-fung (@joshuawongcf) August 17, 2017 Wong said they were lucky to attract the media spotlight, but many other protesters did not.“I hope from today, Hongkongers will care about the next waves of political prosecutions,” Wong said.“I do not regret taking part in the Occupy protests, [or] retaking civic square. I feel very honoured… We are facing waves and waves of political persecution,” he added. “I hope when we come out next year, we will see a Hong Kong that did not give up.”Photo: HKFP/Karen Cheung.Alex Chow said he believed their sacrifices will bring attract people to join social movements.“Our persistence will bring the world that we want to see. Our persistence will achieve the final victory,” he said.Before they moved into the courtroom, they chanted a slogan often heard during the Occupy protests: “Hope is in the people, change will be brought by protests.”A group of counter protesters sang sarcastic celebration songs and chanted slogans criticising the trio ahead of the judgement.
