Three leading campaigners on trial over their involvement in the 2014 Umbrella Movement calling for political reform.
Three leading Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners have pleaded not guilty to public nuisance charges over their involvement in massive rallies in 2014 calling for political reform in the Chinese territory.
The pioneering trio are among nine activists on trial 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.
The trial at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court is expected to last 20 days.
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 semi-autonomous city to a standstill for months, calling for free elections for the city’s leader.
The activists were welcomed outside the 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 ». Prepared for jail
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.
