Latest news with #LeagueofSocialDemocrats
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Hong Kong 47: Jimmy Sham, three other opposition figures released from prison
Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, one of 47 Hong Kong opposition figures charged in the city's largest national security case so far, has been released from prison after serving his sentence for conspiracy to commit subversion. Sham and three others – Kinda Li Ka-tat, Roy Tam Hoi-pong and Henry Wong Pak-yu – were released early on Friday, a police source confirmed. They were the second batch of defendants in the high-profile case to complete their sentences. Sham, 38, a former convenor of the now-defunct Civil Human Rights Front, was sentenced to four years and three months in prison in November 2024, with the time he spent in pre-trial detention also taken into account. He was seen leaving Shek Pik Prison on Lantau Island under heavy police escort and also near his home in Jordan, where he reportedly arrived at around 6.30am. Speaking to local media, Sham said he hoped to remember those who were 'still suffering', and that he would need time to figure out what the 'new normal' was after four years away from society. 'I'm not sure if I am really a free man,' he said. 'My emotions are complicated ... of course, there is some happiness here [about my release], but there are still many who are suffering, and I feel like I can't be too joyful.' He added that over the past four years many things had changed 'outside' that he had not been aware of. 'I don't know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels like today is my first day of understanding the world again,' Sham said. 'So, as for what I can do or should do in the future, or where the red line is, I feel like I need to explore and figure it out all over again.' He said he had no plans to leave Hong Kong for the time being and that he was looking forward to spending time with his family again after four years of being apart. Li, Tam and Wong, who are all former district councillors, were also released around the same time – Li and Wong from Stanley Prison and Tam from the Pik Uk Correctional Institution. Their release followed that of four former Legislative Council members – Fan Kwok-wai, Claudia Mo Man-ching, Kwok Ka-ki and Jeremy Tam Man-ho – who were freed in late April, the first defendants to complete their sentences in the case. Sham served as convenor of the Civil Human Rights Front for a year in 2015 and again from 2018 to late 2020, a period during which the organisation spearheaded many large-scale anti-government protests, including during the 2019 social unrest. He also served as the external vice-chairman of the League of Social Democrats and was a district councillor for the Sha Tin Lek Yuen constituency before resigning in 2020. The 'Hong Kong 47' case is the biggest prosecution yet under the national security law that was imposed on the city by Beijing in June 2020 to quell the months-long anti-government movement. Forty-five of the 47 opposition figures were earlier convicted of conspiracy to commit subversion for their roles in an unauthorised 'primary' election held four years ago that was deemed to be part of a plot to overthrow the government. Additional reporting by Connor Mycroft - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
HKFP
4 days ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong activist Jimmy Sham to navigate ‘red lines' after serving 4 years in jail over nat. security offence
Pro-democracy activist Jimmy Sham has said he will have to navigate Hong Kong's red lines, following his release from jail after serving more than four years over the city's largest national security case. Speaking to reporters outside his Jordan home just before 9:30 am, Sham said that he had no plans to leave Hong Kong. 'At this point in time, I don't have plans to leave Hong Kong. At the end of the day, people who are very important to me who are still in Hong Kong,' the 37-year-old said in Cantonese. He also said he would not comment on his experience in prison, 'because there are still many people in there.' Talking about it would not do them any good, he said. Sham was among three other ex-district councillors who were released from prison early Friday morning, after completing their jail terms over the city's largest national security case. The four of them were sentenced to four years and three months in jail. They were among a total of 45 pro-democracy activists who were convicted and sentenced over conspiring to commit subversion linked to an unofficial primary election. Sham, along with Kinda Li, Roy Tam, and Henry Wong, were transported in seven-seater vehicles to their residences. Sham served time in Shek Pik Prison. Li and Wong were released from Stanley Prison, and Tam from Pik Uk Prison, according to local media citing unnamed sources. The four were the second batch of democrats convicted to be released from jail. Last month, former lawmakers Claudia Mo, Gary Fan, Jeremy Tam and Kwok Ka-ki returned home after completing their sentences. Sham said: 'To be honest, I don't know what there is to say, because it's been four years [in jail], and I think I've been disconnected from society. I'm really not in a position to comment on what's going on.' 'Some things can't be said' Asked about his plans following his release, Sham said: 'It's just my first day out, so as for what I can do in the future, where the red lines are drawn, I think I'll have to figure things out first.' That also applied to whether he would decide to engage in LGBTQ advocacy, he told reporters. Sham is openly gay, and brought forth a landmark LGBTQ rights case that resulted in the top court ruling in 2023 that the Hong Kong government was obliged to provide an alternative legal framework recognising same-sex relationships. 'I also miss Lek Yuen. It was always a responsibility that I never fulfilled,' he said, referring to the constituency in Sha Tin he once served as a district councillor, representing the pro-democracy party League of Social Democrats. In response to whether the national security police had told him not to contact certain people or to be wary of them, he also said he had 'self-censored' in regards to 'sensitive questions.' He also said: 'Of course there's concerns that some things can't be said.' Asked whether he felt he was 'free' after being released from prison, he said: 'I'm freer than I was yesterday. This is a change that I'm happy with… But there are still many people suffering, which makes me feel like I can't be too happy, so there are concerns. As for whether I'm free, that's something I'd like to know as well.' 'My expectation for myself is to remember those who are still suffering,' Sham said. He said emotions were 'complex,' adding in English: 'I don't dare to let myself [be] too happy… I do not know what can I say, what can I do.' 'I don't know. Maybe tomorrow you can still see me, I'm free. Maybe tomorrow I'll go back to jail,' he said. 'But over the past four years, I really felt the warmth from outside the walls,' Sham said, recalling how his family would visit him in prison even when the no.8 typhoon signal was hoisted. 'I experienced a lot of unhappiness and helplessness, but [I] slowly recovered… Either way, we need to live, so let's live on,' Sham added. Separately, Wong posted a photo of himself on Facebook at 10:42 am – his first social media update since February 28, 2021, the day the 47 democrats went into detention. In the photo, Wong, who is smiling and wearing a white sleeveless shirt, appears leaner than his last public appearance. There was no caption accompanying the picture.
HKFP
30-04-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong man, 22, arrested under new security law for allegedly publishing ‘seditious' online posts
Hong Kong national security police have arrested and charged a 22-year-old man under Article 23, the city's homegrown national security law, after he allegedly published online posts with 'seditious intentions.' The man was arrested on Monday in the Kowloon district, the force said in a statement released Wednesday. He was charged with one count of 'knowingly publishing publications that had a seditious intention.' He will appear before the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on Wednesday afternoon. The police statement said that 'the arrested man was suspected of repeatedly publishing posts with seditious intentions on online social platforms, with content provoking hatred, contempt or disaffection against the fundamental system of the state.' Earlier this month, Chow Kim-ho – a former member of the League of Social Democrats, a pro-democracy party – was jailed for one year over posting 145 seditious comments on three social media platforms under the city's homegrown security law. Separate to the 2020 Beijing-enacted security law, the homegrown Safeguarding National Security Ordinance targets treason, insurrection, sabotage, external interference, sedition, theft of state secrets and espionage. It allows for pre-charge detention of up to 16 days, and suspects' access to lawyers may be restricted, with penalties involving up to life in prison. Article 23 was shelved in 2003 amid mass protests, remaining taboo for years. But, on March 23, 2024, it was enacted having been fast-tracked and unanimously approved at the city's opposition-free legislature. The law has been criticised by rights NGOs, Western states and the UN as vague, broad and 'regressive.' Authorities, however, cited perceived foreign interference and a constitutional duty to 'close loopholes' after the 2019 protests and unrest.
HKFP
29-04-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
‘Truth is very clear': 4 activists refuse to make arguments in League of Social Democrats street booth trial
Four Hong Kong activists who pleaded not guilty to offences linked to holding street booths in 2023 declined to make their arguments during their trial, with one saying that 'the truth is already very clear.' Three members of the pro-democracy League of Social Democrats (LSD) – Chan Po-ying, Dickson Chau and Yu Wai-pan – as well as activist Lee Ying-chi appeared at the Eastern Magistrates' Courts on Tuesday morning. With the exception of Chan, who is the chairperson of the party, the other three activists did not hire lawyers and represented themselves. The four face a total of 12 counts of collecting money in a public place without a permit and displaying bills or posters on government land without permission. Their offences are in relation to street booths they held in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai on three days in 2023: April 2, April 30, and May 28. The trial began with the prosecution, led by barrister Timmy Yip, presenting their case. Yip summoned four police officers who observed the street booths on those three days as witnesses and asked them questions based on videos taken of the incidents. After that, Magistrate Minnie Wat asked Chan's barrister, Anson Wong, if his client would testify and if he would call any witnesses. Wong said no to both questions. When Chau was asked if he would testify, he said no 'because the truth is already very clear.' He also said he would not summon any witnesses. Yu and Lee echoed their co-defendants. Wat adjourned the case to Wednesday afternoon for the prosecution and the defence to give their closing submissions. Officers' testimonies The four pro-democracy activists' trial comes two years after they held the street booths, during which they displayed a blank black cloth banner and handed out publications with QR codes for donation links, according to the prosecution. Representing the prosecution, Yip played videos of three incidents during the examination-in-chief. The police officers, who acted as prosecution witnesses, testified that they recognised the people in the clips as the defendants on trial. Wong, Chan's lawyer, asked the first two witnesses to confirm that the black cloth at the booths was indeed blank, and if it was therefore different from displays one might see at other public assemblies. The two witnesses agreed. After the lawyers finished questioning each witness, the activists representing themselves also posed questions to the officers. Lee, the only defendant who is not an LSD member, confirmed with the first three witnesses that they did not hear the activists urging people to donate money and did not see anybody giving money. They agreed. Chau asked the third witness whether the reason police officers filmed the street booth on May 28, 2023, extensively was because the activists had mentioned June 4 – the date of the Tiananmen crackdown in 1989. The witness said he disagreed. When Chau questioned what the police's aim was in filming the street booth, Yip said he believed it went beyond the scope of the testimony. QR codes The fourth witness, a police officer who happened to be handed publications by the activists on the three dates of the street booths, told the court that she brought the publications back to the police headquarters, where she scanned the two QR codes printed on them. The QR codes directed users to donate to them via Paypal's Braintree and HSBC's PayMe, she said. The prosecution presented pages of screenshots, made by the officer surnamed Choi, showing the steps of how payment can be made. Choi told Chan's lawyer, Wong, that she did not complete payments on either platform. She confirmed that she did not know if the payment would actually work. Chau asked Choi why she made 16 screenshots of Braintree, but only one of PayMe. Choi answered that she had made a screenshot for every step, and PayMe simply had fewer steps. The activist said that he believed Choi knew that payments through PayMe would not have worked because HSBC had already frozen LSD's account, referring to the bank ending its relationship with the political party in 2023. The QR code was already ineffective, Chau also told the court. Meanwhile, Lee questioned why anyone would hand out publications with QR codes for a frozen bank account and ask people to donate money. When asked by Yu, Choi confirmed that she did not see any money boxes at their street booth or other ways in which funds could be collected. Six LSD members in the same case pleaded guilty in October and were fined up to HK$1,000.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
After retrial, Hong Kong court jails social worker to nearly 4 years for rioting
By Jessie Pang HONG KONG(Reuters) - A Hong Kong court sentenced a prominent social worker on Wednesday to 3 years and 9 months imprisonment for rioting during the city's 2019 pro-democracy protests, following a retrial. Jackie Chen was convicted by Deputy District Judge May Chung in March. She had pleaded not guilty and declined to testify during her retrial, which was ordered after she was found innocent of the charges in 2020. Chung said in her judgment that as Hong Kong is a society with rule of law, the sentencing imposed by the court must have a deterrent effect. Chen was initially cleared of rioting in the Wan Chai and Causeway Bay districts on August 31, 2019, after District Court Judge Sham Siu-man ruled that the prosecutors had failed to establish a prima facie case against her. Three other defendants Lai Pui Ki, Chung Ka Nang, Jason Gung were sentenced to 2 years and 5 months after pleading guilty at retrial. They were also initially acquitted by Judge Sham. Months of sometimes violent pro-democracy protests rocked the global financial hub in 2019 and sparked a Beijing-imposed security crackdown. Chen, a member of the Battlefield Social Worker group during the 2019 protests, was frequently seen by witnesses with a loudhailer, liaising between protesters and police officers, monitoring police action and offering emotional support to people. Judge Chung noted Chen's use of a loud hailer, saying she encouraged the riot through shouting. Chung also said she had taken into account the fact that Chen was under mental stress from the retrial, would have her social worker's licence revoked and that she had been a social worker for years. Rioting is capped at a maximum of seven-year sentence at the District Court. Seperately, Chow Kim-ho, a former member of the pro-democracy group League of Social Democrats, was jailed on Tuesday for one year for posting seditious comments on three social media platforms under the city's homegrown national security law. He had pleaded guilty.
