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Belated Report: Hong Kong Court of Appeal Opens Hearing on Falun Gong "Public Obstruction" Case
(Clearwisdom.net)
On September 3, Falun Gong practitioners from Hong Kong and Switzerland began
their 3-day Court of Appeal hearings of the "public obstruction" case
that a judge in Hong Kong convicted them for last year. At nine o'clock in the
morning, ten practitioners who were involved in the case marched from Chater
Gardens to the Court of Appeal located on Queensway, with the support of dozens
of other practitioners. They went into the courthouse after reading a public
announcement.
The practitioners indicated in their public announcement that their peaceful
demonstration in front of the Office of China Liaison Authorities was totally
consistent with the rights that the Chinese Constitution and Hong Kong's Basic
Law grant their people. The purpose of their appeal was to uphold the
human rights and liberty of people in China and Hong Kong, as well as the
morality, justice and conscience that human kind depends on.
The Chief Judge of the High Court, Justice Ma, said that there is no doubt
that Hong Kong people have the freedom to demonstrate under the protection of
the Basic Law. The issue is how to define the boundaries of freedom of
demonstration. Mr. Ma indicated before the hearing ended that demonstration in
Hong Kong is protected by the constitution. Still, it must be noted that
demonstrations can cause certain disturbances. Under what situations do such
disturbances call for police intervention, and to what extent does such
intervention infringe on people's freedom to demonstrate? These are the issues
to be resolved in this case.
Hong Kong Enjoys an Independent Judicial System
The attorney representing the practitioners, Zhuang Xishi, said that last
year Falun Gong practitioners' demonstration in front of the Office of China
Liaison Authorities was a cultural coalition of the East and West, as it
involved four Swiss citizens. He said that the Swiss practitioners did not go to
China to demonstrate because the Chinese government refused to issue them visas.
Hong Kong's judicial system is independent of China's, so they decided to
demonstrate in Hong Kong instead.
In his argument he stated that the walkway in front of the Office of China
Liaison Authorities is 13.7 meters long and 9.5 meters wide. There are normally
very few pedestrians there. The section is not part a parking zone or crosswalk.
It is apparent that a small to medium size peaceful demonstration in such a
walkway would not cause any significant inconvenience to anyone. He pointed out
that the roadblock that police had set up in front of the Office of China
Liaison Authorities on the day of demonstration and subsequent days occupied an
area larger than that occupied by the demonstrators. That was truly blocking the
street.
It Would Be Beneficial to China to Stop The Suppression
One of the Swiss practitioners, Eric Bachmann, said that he was stopped by
officials at customs for questioning when he arrived in Hong Kong on August 28.
He said that the officials began by asking him if he was to engage in any
demonstrations in Hong Kong. Although he showed to them the documentation for
his court appearance, they would not believe him and called the attorney to
verify. Eric indicated that the reason for his appeal is to get a fair trial. He
believes that Hong Kong should not succumb to the pressure by the Chinese
government.
Eric also stated that practitioners around the world have filed lawsuits
against Jiang Zemin for genocide. He believes that the lawsuits will stop
Jiang's atrocities against Falun Gong practitioners and will benefit China.
Eric said that he was questioned at customs for over an hour when he came to
Hong Kong this time, as well as last February. Furthermore, he was only allowed
to stay for a few days, even after he showed them the letters from the attorney.
He felt that he was being discriminated against. During his February visit, the
customs officials even asked him to guarantee that he would not participate in
any demonstrations in Hong Kong.
Human Rights Law Tests The Boundary of Freedom of Demonstration
Legislative Council member James TO Kun-sun pointed out that anyone
(including foreigners) are allowed to engage in legal demonstrations or
protests. Therefore, the customs officials' requirement of Eric to not engage in
any demonstration in Hong Kong was essentially asking him to promise not to
conduct a legal act, which is not reasonable.
As to whether the demonstration is legal or not, Mr. TO, a former attorney
himself, said that one cannot make a blanket statement. Human Rights Law should
be used to evaluate whether one is blocking the street. As far as the specific
case associated with Falun Gong practitioners last year, he felt that it was
clear-cut: the walkway in front of the Office of China Liaison Authorities was
so wide that one could not "block the street." He felt that the
District government had abused its power in this case.
Many people have attempted to demonstrate in front of the Office of China
Liaison Authorities, but they were all stopped by the police. Regarding this,
Mr. TO said categorically that the police officers' actions were wrong.
"They should not apply to Hong Kong what takes place in Mainland
China."
The "Public Obstruction" Case History
According to the Falun Dafa Information Center, Jiang Zemin issued a
"shoot to kill" order last March, ordering the police to open fire on
practitioners who put up posters.
On March 14, 2002, four Swiss and 12 practitioners from Hong Kong were
arrested by the Hong Kong police when they appealed in front of the Office of
China Liaison Authorities against the "shoot to kill" order. They were
accused of "blocking the street," "interfering with official
business" and "attacking police." After a 32-day trial, the judge
convicted the practitioners of all seven offenses they were charged with, and
fined them between 1300 to 3800 Hong Kong dollars.
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