People in Hong Kong carry placards with slogans including Occupy Central rioters cannot escape guilt on Tuesday to support jailing the movement's leading organizers. ROY LIU/CHINA DAILY Civil disobedience is not a viable justification for engaging in criminal activity, a judge in the West Kowloon district of Hong Kong said on Tuesday as he handed down verdicts for leading figures in the 2014Occupy Central movement. Nine participants, including three chief organizers, were all found guilty of causing a public nuisance in the 79-day sit-in, which brought the city's downtown area to a standstill at the time. Each of their charges is punishable by up to seven years in prison, according to Hong Kong's Crimes Ordinance and the Criminal Procedure Ordinance. The sentences will be announced at a later date. Civil disobedience is commonly defined as a form of nonviolent protest against government policy. In 2014, the massive protest, in which hundreds of thousands of people participated, began in opposition to the then official reform plan of the coming chief executive election. Three masterminds of the protest-University of Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting, sociologist Chan Kin-man, and pastor Chu Yiu-ming-were all convicted of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance. Tai and Chan were also found guilty of incitement to commit public nuisance. In the written verdict, Judge Johnny Chan Jong-herng said the trio conspired to cause a public nuisance through unreasonable and unlawful obstruction of public roads in a central business district in the special administrative region over a prolonged period. The judge said he had balanced citizens' rights of free speech, assembly, demonstration, and other relevant rights protected by the Basic Law, the SAR's constitutional document. It's not necessary to block a major road, and the obstruction interfered with rights enjoyed by people who didn't participate in the protest, he noted. Five other defendants, legislator Tanya Chan Suk-chong, legislator and social worker Shiu Ka-Chun, social activist Raphael Wong Ho-ming, and former student leaders Tommy Cheung Sau-yin and Eason Chung Yiu-wa, were found guilty of incitement to commit public nuisance and incitement to incite public nuisance. If sentenced to one month or more, Tanya Chan and Shiu may lose their seats in the Legislative Council if a motion to relieve them of their duties is passed by two-thirds of Leg-Co members present at the vote, under Article 79 of the Basic Law. Their rights to run for a LegCo election in the next five years will also be denied if the penalty is more than three months of imprisonment, according to LegCo. Legal experts said the ruling draws a red line for political expression and action in the future. Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a lawyer and member of the Executive Council-the top advisory body for the chief executive in Hong Kong, said the Occupy Central movement disturbed a considerable number of Hong Kong people's lives, and the convictions will impose restraints on future political expression and actions. Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said the city's stability is now a common expectation among most Hong Kong residents. being human wristbands buy onlinedebossed rubber wristbandssilicone bracelet maker machineplain black silicone wristbandssilicone bracelets custom
Chan Ching-chuen says cooperation will help China forge its own route to scientific prominence. PARKER ZHENG/CHINA DAILY Scientists in Hong Kong should act as a driving force in the national technological push, and should play a more proactive role in transforming the world's second-largest economy into a genuine powerhouse of science and innovation, Chan Ching-chuen, founding president of the World Electric Vehicles Association, said. A higher level of bilateral cooperation in science and technology between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong is something inherent in the 'one country, two systems' principle, he said. It stands as a living example that the policy has been consistently enriched and developed. Greater cooperation would fit well with China's drive to chart its own course to becoming a global scientific and technology superpower by 2049. It would also be in line with Hong Kong's need to diversify its economy from the two traditional pillars - financial services and real estate - toward innovative technologies, he added. His remarks echoed President Xi Jinping's pledge to fund many of the research and development projects that contribute to Hong Kong's technological vision. Known as a leader of the city's scientific community, Chan was one of 24 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering based in Hong Kong who wrote to Xi in June last year. When Hong Kong returned to the motherland in 1997, Asia's financial center missed out on a golden opportunity to join with Shenzhen (Guangdong province) to sharpen its edge as an innovator, he said. This time, as the plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area signals a new phase in cross-boundary collaboration, Hong Kong cannot afford to miss the boat again. Such a big trend calls for a sense of urgency among the local regulatory and scientific communities in the face of increasingly serious challenges. The city should lose no time in finding its place in the national science-technology development. He added that the Hong Kong government should take more active steps to develop an effective coordination mechanism with mainland policymakers. Chan, dubbed the father of Asian electric vehicles, believes that Hong Kong is an ideal testing ground for electric vehicles, and can capitalize on its strength in technological advancement and international standards. However, he conceded that the city lacks the land resources and huge investment to support mass production of electric cars, and said the mainland could make a contribution by boosting the nation's development of a green car market and a worldwide clean energy revolution. Though China is a global heavyweight in terms of the manufacture of electric vehicles, when it comes to developing core technologies in the field, it still faces some difficult challenges, according to Chan. The prospects of electronic vehicles rely on improved collaboration between the mainland and Hong Kong. It is a living example of how the strengths of Hong Kong's scientists could be given full play by underscoring the country's vision to lead the pack in the next technological breakthroughs, he said.
