Seven More Acquitted of Rioting

Protesters set spectator stands on fire in Wan Chai last year

 

Seven people were acquitted of rioting during an anti-government protest on August 31 last year because the prosecution did not have enough evidence to prove without a reasonable doubt.

District Judge Sham Siu-man concluded on Saturday there was no evidence showing what the defendants did before their arrests in Wan Chai, and ruled their presence alone was not enough to justify a conviction, even if they were dressed in black and equipped with protective gear.

A boyfriend and girlfriend acquitted of rioting

"Undoubtedly, the situation of the night in question was not something that one would often see in Hong Kong," Sham said. "To some people, it was perhaps a rare and special historical moment. The court does not rule out the possibility that, among those present, there were indeed some who went there hoping to witness everything that was happening."

The judge also sided with the defence in ruling there could be innocent reasons for some of the defendants to try to flee from the scene, as they may have left due to police warnings, a spontaneous reaction to swarms of people, or "out of fear of the police" at the time.

"Their being participants of the riot is not the only reasonable inference," Sham concluded. "The court is of the view that the prosecution has failed to prove the offences beyond reasonable doubt and therefore the court finds all the defendants not guilty."

Police responded with tear gas and water cannon

As soon as the judge announced the acquittals, a round of applause erupted in the courtroom. Supporters outside the courtroom thanked the lawyers and chanted, "There are no rioters."

 On August 31, 2019, there were violent clashes between protesters and police at the intersection of Hennessy Road and Luard Road. Protesters hurled Molotov cocktails at police and set up roadblocks. They even dragged benches from the spectator stands at Southern Playground to the middle of the street and set them on fire.

Police responded with tear gas and water cannon, arresting 142 people that day.

In late September the same court dismissed a charge of rioting against a social worker, Jackie Chen Hung-sau who was also there that night in Wan Chai. She had been accused of rioting when in fact Chen was trying to calm the police down.

Jackie Chen was also acquitted in September

So far the number of acquittals in riot charges is 11. Only one protester to date has been convicted of rioting.

As of October 15, more than 10,100 people have been arrested in relation to the anti-government protests, with 2,285 charged, of which 691 were accused of rioting.

Now that another seven defendants have been acquitted, the Department of Justice should look at its scorecard and see it's not doing that well in terms of convictions. If their evidence is not solid, why are prosecutors wasting everyone's time (and taxpayer dollars) in pushing these cases through the judicial system, only to have them dismissed?

But perhaps these rulings are good -- they are for the record and proof the judiciary, which is under a lot of pressure, is still holding up the rule of law.

 

Escalated Violence by Hong Kong Police

Hundreds gathered in Victoria Park for a rally that soon became a corral

The police gave a no-objection letter to a rally in Victoria Park for candidates running in the upcoming district council elections in November 24. Hundreds of people showed up, many in black, some bundled up prepared to battle the police later.

People had been encouraged to make their way to Central, either Edinburgh Place or Chater Garden, and many were keen to start marching. However, the police were already surrounding the area. In fact many riot police were already inside the Tin Hau and Causeway Bay MTR stations before 3pm, watching people going to Victoria Park.

Pepe the Frog defies the face mask ban in Victoria Park

Once the people started marching, then it would be an excuse for the police to arrest them for unlawful assembly, and for wearing face masks. So this was a police tactic to corral people into one space.

We managed to get out at the north side of the park and went out through a small playground called Tung Lo Wan Park. There were kids playing on the sides and play area and next to them? A group of riot police. No one said a word while passing by them.

However, as we got out roads were blocked here and there which made it harder for people to move westward towards Central. At one point we had no choice but to go into World Trade Center mall and the security staff let people in and we walked out the other way.

As we walked we bumped into a couple who were tourists and looked very worried. We strongly advised them to go back to their hotel and walked with them to the MTR station.

Many people were arrested in Wan Chai

A middle-aged woman walking in front of us had said tear gas had been fired in Causeway Bay and soon I could see a block away on Hennessy Road, a number of riot police running down the street and could hear tear gas fired in the distance. For me that was the queue to leave the area.

Soon after as people headed westward to Wan Chai, there was more tear gas and people were cornered in Southern Playground by the police and forced to crouch with their hands up, or kneel with their hands up, much like what happened to other people in Tuen Mun on Halloween night. These people -- who filled four large coaches -- were sent to the police station.

Other horrific events tonight so far?

A candidate running for the district council elections in Tai Po, Richard Chan, was trying to make sure people were safe while in Victoria Park when he was pepper sprayed by police and then violently tackled to the ground and arrested.

He is known as "Airport Uncle" for standing his ground between the police and activists at Hong Kong International Airport in August. He is running for office for the first time and will surely get more sympathy after how he was treated.

A first aider seriously burned when hit by a tear gas canister

Also in Causeway Bay, a first aider was hit in the back by a tear gas canister. He fell to the ground and his fellow first aiders and a journalist quickly carried him to a safe place. However, when they examined him, they found the skin on his back was seriously burned from the hot tear gas canister and his body went into shock.

Other tear gas canisters were found later to have lodged themselves into the road, they were so hot. It is believed these are made in China and much more dangerous...

Another was a fireman who was angry that a tear gas canister had hit his truck and complained to the police, who then ganged up on him and roughed him up. Reporters on the scene who were trying to film the incident, were pepper sprayed by other police officers and told to go away. No one knows what happened to the fireman.

The same video https://t.co/CKlCBVzC6I pic.twitter.com/U450Pziist

— Damon Pang (@damon_pang) November 2, 2019

 

May we add that today is the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists? Seems like the Hong Kong Police didn't get that memo, and if they did they didn't care.

There are many student journalists covering the protests and have managed to get some incredible footage. However, one young student journalist was interrogated by police, telling him he didn't belong there because he was a student and they demanded he take off his gas mask.

Tear gas canisters melted into the asphalt, they were so hot

For a scrawny kid, he stood his ground and refused, even shouting back at the police. He has quickly learned how to be a tough cookie.

An outrageous incident was when a guy in a Porsche was playing "Glory to Hong Kong", the anthem of the protests in his car. The police found this offensive -- is there no freedom of expression anymore? And literally opened the door and yanked him out of the car, sat on top of him on the ground then arrested him.

The media pack also witnessed some police officers dressed as protesters getting into police vans and strangely the police didn't prevent the reporters from filming this. Guess it's an open secret now...

While the police's performance today has been shocking again, they had their own missteps.

In Wan Chai on Johnston Road by Southern Playground, the police misfired a tear gas canister that landed behind at their colleagues. They were not prepared and there are images of some of them on their knees bent over in pain.

People nearby clapped and hollered.

But there are concerns the Hong Kong government will use the vandalism and violence on the streets to justify postponing the district council elections on November 24, just when people are keen to show where they stand politically...

Another Protest, Another Conflict

Some 430,000 people participated in the (peaceful) march on Sunday

Every Sunday it's the same thing -- a peaceful march followed by ugly confrontations between a group of protesters and the police.

This afternoon hundreds of thousands of people gathered at Victoria Park for yet another march calling for Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to withdraw the bill and set up an independent commission into alleged police brutality. This time the dress code was any colour, but the vast majority of people were in black.

"Hong Kong add oil" in yellow balloons

We were told the finish would be at Southern Playground in Wan Chai, and there was speculation that perhaps the police were itching for a fight and that protesters would go to the police headquarters a few blocks away.

In any event, the march got underway at 3.30pm, but it took us over an hour just to get out of Victoria Park. In that time at least four people passed out and marchers signaled for first aid, and even made space for them to rush over. Standing around in 32 degree heat and high humidity shows protesters aren't doing this for fun -- this is hard work!

At times we had to walk backwards too, which was a first in a protest march, possibly because of people fainting here and there. Almost two hours later we were by the Regal Hong Kong Hotel, and then just after two hours by Sogo.

It was here that we saw Ken Tsang Kin-chiu on a bullhorn telling marchers they could walk faster on Lockhart Road and he was with Cardinal Zen who was giving everyone the thumbs up. All along the way there were no police in sight to ensure we were keeping in line.

People leaving messages of support all over the march route

With some people going to Lockhart Road, we could finally walk at a slightly faster pace, though it was not without its stops and starts. When things got quiet, someone would show "Hongkongers!" and others replied "Add oil!", or "Carrie Lam!" and "Resign!" That would energize the crowd for a while and then later on towards Admiralty Christians were singing "Sing Hallelujah", another protest song...

Overall the atmosphere was good, young and old, we all braved the heat to march. By the time we got to Southern Playground we could see one protester shouting he had masks, hinting it was for people who wanted to go to the police headquarters.

We decided to march all the way to the Court of Final Appeal, the original end point for the march, but we could see other people heading to the Legislative Council, also with masks. After three hours and 48 minutes we finally made it to Central and my legs were tired to say the least.

Protesters deface the sign in front of the liaison office

After coming home I saw on Twitter that protesters had gone to the liaison office in Sai Ying Pun and no police were there to guard the building. Naturally the protesters took the opportunity to deface it, including calling President Xi Jinping a dog...

Then the police tried to clear them from the area, and moved them eastwards towards Central. However, things heated up again near Shun Tak Centre and Western Market and tear gas was thrown many times and possibly rubber bullets were fired as well.

In the meantime things got even uglier in Yuen Long MTR station where people in white with sticks were attacking anyone in black, who they assumed to be protesters. What was even scarier was that there were no police in sight, leaving many people, including families with young children frightened and shocked to be caught in the mess.

Police fire tear gas at protesters in Sheung Wan this evening

Only in the last few minutes (around 11.15pm) did the police arrive (all 12 of them), after the thugs (possibly triads?) left. To some it seemed like the whole incident was planned and are demanding answers from the police, who are telling commuters to just go home. How about some answers?

It's all very confusing and there will be more talk tomorrow. But in the meantime it seems now (11.30pm) that protesters have decided to call it a day in Sheung Wan.

How can Hong Kong continue to sustain these protest marches and violent incidents week after week? This is not the city we know and love anymore and it is the government that has to be accountable for this mess and get us out of it. However, Carrie Lam has been completely silent about it and the longer she doesn't say anything, the more this will continue...

Pro-Police Rally Today, Anti-Extradition Tomorrow

A large rally was held at Tamar today in support of the Hong Kong Police

The weather has become unsettled again because of a typhoon passing by on Taiwan's east coast, and this weekend there has been rain on and off. Despite the unsettled conditions, a march to support the Hong Kong police was held this afternoon, and organizers say over 300,000 came to the rally at Tamar in Admiralty, while the police said it was 165,000.

Nevertheless, more than 60 relatives of police officers signed an open letter to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, urging her to stop using the police officers as "human shields" between the government and the public, and to set up a judge-led inquiry committee.

Afterwards, some people tore messages from Lennon Wall

"We are furious that front line police officers have to stand in the forefront in the face-off with protesters in demonstrations arising from political controversies... Front line police officers are forced to bear the consequences of the government's maladministration," the relatives wrote.

The rally had some star power, with TVB star Nat Chan Pak-cheung and Maria Cordero, as well as former secretary of justice Elsie Leung Oi-see, while co-convenors of the event included Margaret Leung Ko May-yee, managing director of Chong Hing Bank, Kenneth Fok Kai-kong, vice-president of the Fok Ying Tung group, and former police commissioner Tang King-shing.

When the rally was over, some participants went over to the "Lennon Wall" in Admiralty and pulled down the hand-written messages there, while putting up some pro-police newspaper articles.

Where will tomorrow's march end? Wan Chai or Central?

In the meantime, since Lam has not addressed any of the protesters' demands, another march will be held tomorrow afternoon. Civil Human Rights Front had planned the route to start from Victoria Park to the Court of Final Appeal in Central, but the police have said the march has to end at Southern Playground for safety reasons.

The police are wary of marchers passing by the police headquarters in Wan Chai as well as the Legislative Council in Admiralty, where there have been attacks on these buildings. So we'll have to see what happens tomorrow -- will it all end abruptly at Southern Playground? Will some other protesters find another government building to vent their frustration and anger?

Stay tuned.