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Hong Kong court quashes decision to enforce reporting ban on activist’s national security case in landmark ruling

//Reporting restrictions on proceedings regarding the transfer of criminal cases to the High Court must be lifted if the defendant makes such a request, a Hong Kong court has ruled.

The landmark judgement, which could extend to cases prosecuted under the national security law, came after activist #ChowHangTung challenged a magistrate’s decision to retain reporting restrictions in a national security case.

In a ruling published on Tuesday, August 2, 2022, High Court Judge Alex Lee said that magistrates had no say in whether to lift reporting restrictions on committal proceedings if the accused had applied to do so.

Chow, along with the Alliance, and the group’s former leaders #LeeCheukYan and #AlbertHo, were charged under the Beijing-imposed #NationalSecurityLaw over alleged incitement to subversion.

The Alliance, before it was disbanded in September last year, organised Hong Kong’s annual candlelight vigils commemorating victims of the #TiananmenCrackdown, where it is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in #Beijing on June 4, 1989.//

Read the full article:
https://hongkongfp.com/2022/08/02/hong-kong-court-quashes-decision-to-enforce-reporting-ban-on-activists-national-security-case-in-landmark-ruling/

Source: Hong Kong Free Press #Aug2

#Alliance #PoliceState #Censorship #JudicialReview #NSL
The US Government advises their citizen "DO NOT TRAVEL" to Hong Kong due to a high risk of arbitrarily enforcing local laws.

#NSL #BasicLaw #China #US #GoHKgraphics
[47 in primary election case] After running for 12 hours, hearing adjourned to next month; defendants only given three packs of crackers for dinner

By Translated by BeWater HK on Feb 5, 2022 • 17 May 2022

[Independent media report] 47 persons involved in organizing and participating in a pan-democrats primary election last year were charged with "conspiracy to subvert state power". Only 14 of them were granted bail (Owen CHOW’s bail was revoked recently).  The other 33 have been detained for nearly eleven month since their arrests. The hearing at West Kowloon Magistracy today deals with some of the defendants, including LAM Cheuk-Ting and Gwyneth HO’s requests. 23 defendants attended the hearing…

Court case number: WKCC813/2021

 Source: InMediaHK #Jan27

#ChanChiChuen #WongPikWan #NSL #LamCheukTing #JoshuaWong

Full Story:

https://telegra.ph/47-in-primary-election-case-After-running-for-12-hours-hearing-adjourned-to-next-month-defendants-only-given-three-packs-of-crac-05-17
Congressional-Executive Commission on China (#CECC) published a statement in mid-July, urging Biden to sanction 15 named #NSL prosecutors and the new Secretary of Justice.

Hong Kong government strongly condemns the "threats" as "reasonable bullying acts", claiming the CECC violates international principles.

#Sanction #DOJ #GoHKgraphics
#HKParliament
Overseas activists launching Hong Kong Parliament in exile are suspected of violating national security law : Hong Kong Security Bureau

A group of overseas #Hongkongers announced their proposal of "Hong Kong Parliament", and plan to have the first election next year.

In response, the Security Bureau published a statement to condemn the organisers, including Victor Ho Leung-Mau, Elmer Yuen Gong-Yi, Baggio Leung Chung-Hang, claiming that their actions may violate the 22nd Ordinance under #NationalSecurityLaw (#NSL) -- Subversion of the State, and will arrest them.

Read more:
https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/33055

Elmer Yuen Gong-Yi, aged 73, is the father of former People Power Chairperson #EricaYuenMiMing and current-issue commentor #DerekYuenMiChang whose wife is a #LegCo member #EuniceYungHoiYan. Elmer Yuen has been commenting social and political issues since the 2019 #AntiELAB movement.

Victor Ho Leung-Mau was an editor-in-chief at Sing Tao Daily Canada. #BaggioLeungChungHang is a former LegCo member who was disqualified from his seat in the vow-taking incident in 2016, and had announced that he was exiled to overseas in 2020.

source: In-Media HK #Aug03
https://bit.ly/3vBMYOL
#47Democrats #PrimaryElection #MassArrest
"To Plea or Not To Plea guilty" is a queation that suffocates defendants

47 lawmakers, academia, and activist are being suspected of organising and participating in the primary election in 2020. They are being accused of "conspiring subversion of state".

In the 139-page of case study, it revealed that 5 of the defendants were classified as "major organisers" - #BennyTai, a legal scholar; #AuNokHin, a former legislator; #ChiuKaYin and #ChungKamLun, former district council members; and #GordonNg, an activist.

Among them, only Gordon Ng decided to plea not guilty.

Gordon Ng Concern Group wrote a post on social media after the release of the restrictions on reporting the cases, referring to Ng's perspective that he is "definitely not believing" that he had violated the law,  and therefore, "I will face it despite being afraid”.

Ng said that he spent most of his time thinking about whether or not to plead guilty since being charged one and a half years ago. This question "makes him breathless" as his answer would most likely affect the second half of his life, with too many factors to consider.

He mentioned up until now, no defendant under the #NSL case has successfully been acquitted of their charges and described the space for discusiion, as an unknown as it required a lot of human and material resources. He asked, "is there a better way to use the resources spent on me?"

Ng understands that if he pleads guilty, his one-third of his original sentence may be cut. Yet, he is still unsure whether he is classified as a "main person", "with large crime" or "proactive participant". The category can seriously affect his sentence, from under three years to life imprisonment.

In addition, Ng stated that the case caught local and international attention, and as a result, he reflects on whether he has the responsibility to consider the view of civic society. He is an #Australian citizen, and the Australian government once published a statement raising concerns on the case. Therefore, he reflects, "Will my defence statement affect their views on the case?"

Gordon Ng admitted that he had no answer for most of his questions, but a fundamental question struck him - Do you think you had violated the law? "No, I absolutely don't think so. Therefore, I decide not to plead."

There is no way for him to get rid of the unknowns. He can only face it with courage. "I have prepared to fight for myself on the court. That is the largest battle in my life."

[Editor note: Gordon Ng is not a candidate for the election nor represents any political parties or organisations but a passerby on #LIHKG (named Lee Bak Lou, indicating liberal). He was the initiator of #LegCoPetition. It is a petition aimed to quantify people's voices and to call people to vote for the winners in the primary election and not to vote for candidates who do not support, participate or comply with the primary election. This petition puts pressure on candidates to adhere to the election results.]

Source: InMedia, GordonNgConcernGroup Facebook Page #Aug18

https://bit.ly/3Ctdhek
https://bit.ly/3Rb3rSD

Read more about the case:

Jan 6, 2021:

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/27802

Feb 28, 2021:

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28799

Mar 1-2, 2021:

https://t.me/guardiansofhongkong/28876
.
Authors of "Sheep Village" Illustrated Books Handed 19-Month Sentence; Judge Questions Lack of Mention that "Sheep Village is Part of Wolf Village"

Five former committee members of the de-registered General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, accused of publishing three illustrated books of the "Sheep Village" series, were found guilty of conspiring to print, publish, distribute and display with seditious intent. After being detained for more than a year, they were sentenced in the District Court to 19 months imprisonment on Saturday Sept 10, the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

It was the first case in which the defendant pleaded not guilty to seditious publication charges. Designated #NationalSecurityLaw judge Kwok Wai-kin set 21 months as the starting point of the sentence for each defendant, with a discretionary deduction of two months, resulting in a sentence of 19 months imprisonment.

The judge said that the audience of the illustrated books is children aged four and above, who are like "plain paper". He criticises the defendants' books for using sheep and wolves as an analogy for Hong Kong and China, respectively. He claimed that the books accused China of doing something illegal and improper, and "sowed the seeds of instability" for the Central government and Hong Kong by indicating that China had no sovereignty over Hong Kong and that Hong Kong was not part of China. He also accused the defendants of "brainwashing" younger readers, poisoning their minds, and mobilising parents to participate.

Before sentencing, the judge asked the defendant several questions: "When will you leave the prison of your mind?" "Did you put the truth in the illustrated books? Why didn't the books tell readers that the shepherds left because they had no right to continue to govern the place?" "Why not mention that the sheep village is part of the wolf village?" "Why is freedom of speech used to deny China's indisputable sovereignty over Hong Kong?"

The judge quoted the defense's plea that the defendants are "elite" and "smart people", and that they could understand what he meant.

As the five defendants entered the detention room, they waved to the bystanders. Someone in the gallery shouted, "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!"

They will still serve their sentences for about one more month, and are expected to be free by next month.

Source: The Witness #Sep10

https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z

#SpeechTherapists #SheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin
Lorie Lai Man-ling and Melody Yeung Yat-yee, two among five defendants of the case of "Sheep Village", dismissed their defence counsel in the morning and made their submissions.

The first defendant Lorie Lai shared her reflections and experiences from the five-day trial and the 13-month remand over the court. She rebuttal the prosecutor, who took extremist terrorists as an example to argue that freedom of speech must not conflict with national security, and question whether "freedom with restrictions is freedom?"

She was interrupted by Judge Kwok Wai-kin, "If you continue that way, it would be a political statement. If you think I am wrong, then appeal my decision. If you think the prosecution's interpretation is wrong, then appeal theirs!" Kwok continues, "Hong Kong has the Court of Final Appeal, with foreign judges sitting there. I don't think we can single-handedly hide the sky."

The second defendant Melody Yeung said in pleading the case, “rather than judging us for seditious intent and spreading rumours, I think it’s about judging the correct view of history.” She said that Athens could judge Socrates, but not philosophy; The Catholic church could judge Galileo, but not heliocentrism, and that “in history, there’s no single, absolutely corrected view, but a diversity of perspectives. There’s no absolute correctness, only the ability to withstand repeated tests.”

She said only the people’s hearts could judge whether the illustrated books were a genuine reflection of Hong Kong’s social sentiment, a record of the community’s historical perspective, or a spread of rumours.

"If national security only means the security of the ruling group, without respect for personal freedom, then even peace and prosperity is an illusion based on fear," she said, "countless Hong Kong people have come and gone hoping to change uneven political power like this, but they were beaten and shot."

The judge again stopped her speech and said, "All right, all right, Miss Yeung, I think it's over."

Yeung responded, “now it's the relevant part.” Then she points out that the series of political offences affect only not a "handful of people" such as the case's defendants but would lead to a self-silencing civil society and a long-term regression in thought and civilisation.

Yeung was interrupted a second time as she explained the “interchangeable” roles of sheep and wolf in the story. This time she was interrupted by the prosecutor Ng Shuk-kuen, the acting Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions, who stood up and said to the judge , “I believe [Yeung] has gone too far.”

Yeung said, "ok, last words. I never regret being on the side of the sheep. The only thing I regret is that I couldn't get more books done before I was arrested, or that I wasn't more obsessed with the quality of my books." provoking tears among some court spectators.

The third defendant Sidney Ng Hau-yi quoted the speech of Nobel Laureate Camus, who said, "A writer cannot serve today those who make history; he must serve those who are subject to it. Otherwise, he will be alone and deprived of his art."

"The essence of education should be inspiration and guidance, not intimidation and indoctrination, and the same is true when explaining the relationship between individual and country to children," she added.

"Rather than inciting hatred, the three illustrated books are meant to explain the source of these feelings and why they are intensifying so rapidly after 2019; Rather than inciting disobedience, the aim is to make children reflect on the basis of law-abiding, rather than blindly obeying out of fear; Rather than inciting anything, I would like to record acts of bravery."

Source: The Witness #Sep10

#SpeechTherapists #sheepVillage #sedition #NSL #KwokWaiKin #NgShukKuen

https://bit.ly/3BtQL3Z
#Giggs Pleads Guilty to 4 Crimes including Incitement and Money Laundering, Being Confiscated $4.87 million, without Charging his Helper

A broadcast host Wan Yiu-Sing, aged 52, also known as Giggs, pleaded guilty to a Conspiracy to commit an act with intent to incite and three money laundering crimes at the #DistrictCourt on #Oct01. These involved mentioning that the former Chief Executive Carrie Lam was taught a lesson by "putting her family to death". The court also dealt with the confiscation order of his 4.87 million dollars.

The remaining six charges, including two money laundering with his female helper, Alice Lee Po-Lai, will be documented and will not be charged after the confiscation process.

The case extends until #Oct07 in order to handle his sentencing and the relevant order.

Source: The Chaser News #Sept02
https://www.patreon.com/posts/71417862

#D100 #WanYiuSing #LeePoLai #ConfiscationOrder #MoneyLaundering #Incitement #CourtNews #NSL
Hong Kong’s 47 democrats national security case: 19 things since March 2021 you must know

By Translated by BeWaterHK – Sep 3, 2022 • 15 September 2022

A total of 47 democrats were charged with "conspiracy to subversion" for participating in and organising the "35+ primary election" in Hong Kong. Committal proceedings were completed in July 2022 for transfer to the High Court. Under Magistrates Ordinance Section 87A (Restrictions on reports of committal proceedings), journalists have been prevented from reporting on the pre-trial hearings until the win in the appeal by Tonyee Chow Hang-tung to remove media report restrictions on court proceedings of a case related to Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKASPDMC)…

Reporter: Alvin Chan • 18 August 2022

#47Democrats #NSL #HighCourt #AlvinChan

Full Story:

https://telegra.ph/Hong-Kongs-47-democrats-national-security-case-19-things-since-March-2021-you-must-know-09-14