Hong Kong Protesters Win Partial Court Victory

Facts

• Seven prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters won a partial victory in court Monday after a judge quashed part of their convictions related to their roles in the large pro-democracy protests of 2019.¹
• In 2021, media tycoon and founder of now-defunct Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai, unionist Lee Cheuk-yan, prominent leftist Leung Kwok-hung, lawyer Albert Ho, former lawmaker Cyd Ho, and Civic Party and Democratic Party founders Margaret Ng and Martin Lee were arrested for organizing and taking part in an unauthorized assembly.²
• Lai, Cheuk-yan, Kwok-hung, and Ho all served between eight and 18 months in jail while Lee, an 85-year-old dubbed Hong Kong’s “Father of Democracy," Ng, and Ho were given suspended sentences as part of the controversial convictions.³
• On Monday, Judge Andrew Macrae and the Court of Appeal unanimously struck down their convictions over organizing the 2019 protests that drew 1.7M people to the streets in the largest challenge to Hong Kong’s government since it returned to China in 1997.⁴
• However, the Court upheld their convictions for participating in the unlawful assembly, saying that the leaders’ place at the front of the protest march wasn’t evidence of organization. The four protesters who served jail time saw their sentences reduced.⁵
• Monday’s decision comes a few weeks after the Hong Kong high court ruled against a government request to ban the protest song “Glory to Hong Kong” after it had been played in place of the Chinese national anthem. The song was borne out of the 2019 protests, which the government has sought to crack down on.⁶

Sources: ¹Business, ²France 24, ³Associated Press, ⁴Fox 8 Cleveland WJW, ⁵Hong Kong Free Press HKFP, and ⁶ITN.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by The Guardian. This ruling shows that changes are occurring in Hong Kong. Just in the past few weeks, courts have ruled against the Hong Kong government's attempts to unfairly charge protesters and ban songs like “Glory to Hong Kong.” The 2019 protests and the latest string of court decisions have only added inspiration to the fight for democracy.
• Narrative B, as provided by Doughty Street Chambers. While some may laud this decision as a victory, the sad truth is that nothing has changed. Peaceful pro-democracy protesters still have to serve in jail for simply participating in an “unlawful assembly,” and Macrae’s ruling only further legitimizes the government’s authority to dictate whether protests are legal or not and jail dissenters.

Predictions