NAN-F-22
Lawmakers
Hong Kong, March 27, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Hong Kong lawmakers on Monday gathered outside the police headquarters to show support for nine pro-democracy activists who face prosecution for their role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a report said.
“What is ironic is that it comes just one day after we have elected a new chief executive who boasted about healing the social divide and uniting society,” former Legislator Lee Wing-tat said.
Lee said that he was prepared to get arrested and even imprisoned when he took part in the protests.
The nine are expected to be charged with “creating a nuisance in public places’’.
Student activist Joshua Wong said the arrests were a move by the government to try and pre-empt any protests after Lam’s election.
Wong and other pro-democracy campaigners had said they would organise a protest on July 1.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) released a statement denying there was any political motivation in pursuing prosecution a day after a hand-picked electoral committee elected Carrie Lam as its new chief executive.
“Some people in the community surmise that action was taken against those involved in the ‘Occupy Movement’ today because they were so instructed by the chief executive-elect,’’ Mrs Carrie Lam said.
The DoJ stresses that such surmising was completely baseless and utterly untrue.
The department said it did not give prior notice to the executive branch or Lam and that it “generally endeavours to handle cases as soon as possible.’’
Those arrested include: Occupy Central co-founders Benny Yiu-ting, Rev. Chu Yiu-ming and Dr Chan Kin-man; Lee; current legislators Tanya Chan and Shiu Ka-chun.
Others are the former Hong Kong Federation of Student members, Eason Yiu-wah and Tommy Sau-yin; and League of Social Democrats activist Raphael Ho-ming.
In 2014, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets for more than 79 days to protest against Beijing’s insistence.
The protesters had said that Hong Kong’s leader; the chief executive must be vetted by a 1,200-person committee before facing a public vote. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/Ese E. Ekama