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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Court finds nine HK activists guilty
Former student leader Lester Shum, front right, one of the pro-democracy activists found guilty of contempt of court, speaks to reporters outside the High Court in Hong Kong yesterday. Photo: AP
CRIMINAL CONTEMPT: Supporters of the already jailed Joshua Wong, who led the 2014 protests, sang him ‘Happy Birthday’ in the courtroom to mark his 21st birthday
/ Reuters, HONG KONG
A Hong Kong court yesterday found nine pro-democracy activists guilty of criminal contempt of court for refusing to leave a protest site during the 2014 “Occupy” demonstrations which brought major roads in the territory to a halt.
The charge relates to a court-ordered injunction to clear a protest camp in the Mongkok district of the Chinese-ruled financial hub after nearly 79 days of street occupations pushing for full democracy.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” formula that promises it a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland, including an independent judiciary, but a series of court cases against about 100 young democracy activists has shaken confidence in the territory’s vaunted rule of law and critics fear a watering down of its freedoms and creeping interference by Chinese Communist Party rulers in Beijing.
In a summary of his judgement, Judge Andrew Chan （陳慶偉） said the nine defendants had refused to leave the site despite repeated warnings from bailiffs.
The activists had “banded together to fight for their beliefs” and their actions “amounted to a serious interference with the administration of justice,” Chan wrote. “Having considered all the evidence, the court is satisfied that they are guilty of criminal contempt ... This case is not about the right or wrong of the ‘Occupy’ movement.”
Jailed democracy leader Joshua Wong （黃之鋒）, who spearheaded the 2014 protests and also faced the same charge, was present in court.
He and 10 others have already “admitted liability” in defying the court injunction.
Supporters of the bespectacled Wong sang him Happy Birthday in the courtroom to mark his 21st birthday.
“Thank you ... let’s keep going,” shouted Wong, who is serving a six-month prison term on a separate “unlawful assembly” charge.
No date was given for sentencing, with all the defendants facing possible jail terms.
There is no maximum penalty for contempt of court.
On Oct. 1, China’s National Day, tens of thousands of protesters marched in an “anti-authoritarian rule” march that called for the resignation of Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen （袁國強） over the jailing of the activists.
It had been reported that Yuen had overruled several other senior public prosecutors to seek jail terms for Wong and two other activists, Nathan Law （羅冠聰） and Alex Chow （周永康）.
Senior Hong Kong officials have strongly denied any political agenda and say they have strictly abided by legal procedures and the rule of law.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
