Activists In Court Over Labour Day Protest

Eight activists from the Labour Party and the League of Social Democrats on Monday pleaded not guilty to breaching a ban on gatherings of more than four people during a Labour Day protest.

Prosecutors told Eastern Court that Steven Kwok, Stanley Ho, Raphael Wong, Tsang Kin-shing, Mak Tak-ching, Avery Ng, Lee Cheuk-yan and Leung Kwok-hung violated the ban outside Admiralty Centre on the morning of May 1.

Mak is also accused of failing to show the police his identity card.

The activists were given penalty tickets by the police as they attempted to march from Admiralty Centre to the government's headquarters, to protest against a ban on Labour Day demonstrations this year.

As they entered their not-guilty pleas, some of the defendants accused the government of using the gathering restrictions to suppress people's freedom of expression.

The prosecution said it would present the court with video footage of the allegedly unlawful gathering, which it said lasted for about half an hour. It added that a police officer who was at the scene would serve as a witness in the trial.

Leung, Wong and Lee represented themselves in court, with Leung saying he would defend himself on the basis that people’s freedom to assemble and demonstrate is guaranteed by Article 27 of the Basic Law.

Defence lawyers for the other five defendants said they would bring up the definition of a “prohibited group gathering”, as stated in the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation, and question whether their clients had joined such a gathering.

Magistrate Arthur Lam adjourned the case until January 13.