Friday, August 28, 2015

Eric Cheung Comments on the Charges Against Hong Kong Student Leaders (LA Times)

"Hong Kong student leaders on charges: We'll 'use trial to spread our message'"
Violet Law
Los Angeles Times
27 August 2015
Three student leaders who were instrumental in spearheading Hong Kong's pro-democracy demonstrations last fall were charged Thursday with participating in an unlawful assembly and other counts.
     Joshua Wong, founder of high-school activist group Scholarism and the best-known face of the movement, was charged with participating in an unlawful assembly and inciting others to join. Nathan Law, head of the college group Hong Kong Federation of Students, also was charged with one count of inciting, while his predecessor, Alex Chow, faces one count of participating in an unlawful assembly... 
     The charges filed Thursday stemmed from the storming of a public plaza at the semi-autonomous territory’s main government compound by nearly 200 people, mostly university and high school students, at the end of a class boycott in September...
     Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen rejected any speculation that Thursday’s prosecution was politically motivated.
     University of Hong Kong principal law lecturer Eric Cheung said even though the storming may constitute an act of unlawful assembly, he said “the bar [of conviction] is quite high.” That’s because the prosecution must prove that the person is engaged in disorderly conduct likely to cause immediate injury to others or damage to property, or both, he said... Click here to read the full article.

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