Occupy Leaders Urge Supporters To Keep Fighting

Key leaders of the Occupy protest movement have called on their supporters to continue their fight as most of them hinted that they expect to be locked away for a long time.

Dozens of protesters flocked to the court on Wednesday morning ahead of the sentencing of nine Occupy movement leaders who were all found guilty of public nuisance-related offences earlier this month.

Occupy leaders addressed their supporters and the pack of media, with many apparently resigned to being given prison sentences.

One of the Occupy movement co-founders, Chan Kin-man, called on the public to continue to defend Hong Kong's 'two systems' against the "tyranny" of 'one country'.

Former Democratic Party chairman Lee Wing-tat said he believes he’ll see a stronger democracy movement in Hong Kong after he finishes serving his prison term.

He also called on people to protest against extradition laws on Sunday and said he hoped 100,000 would take to the streets against the proposed law changes.

The Civic Party's Tanya Chan said she expects to be put away for some time, but the lawmaker said she remains hopeful.

"I haven't lost my confidence in Hong Kong people ...... it's time for us to make sure that we're strong enough to face different kind of challenges. And I hope that Hong Kong people will safeguard our homeland," she said.

Occupy Central co-founder Chan Kin-man referred to the judge's comment in the verdict that the defendants were "naive" in believing that taking their fight to the streets could have brought universal suffrage to Hong Kong.

"What else is more naive than believing in One Country, Two Systems? But we're the people who believe in that, and defending the system every single day."

A few supporters of the government who had shown up chanted slogans and demanded that the court give the nine tough sentences. One protester said these were needed to restore the rule of law in Hong Kong.

______________________________