Media Summary: Hong Kong Appeals Court Overturns "Public Obstruction" Conviction of 16 Falun Gong Practitioners, Upholds Other Charges

On Wednesday, November 10, the Associated Press reported that in a case seen as a test for the territory's freedom under Chinese rule, a Hong Kong appeals court dismissed some of the convictions Wednesday against 16 Falun Gong practitioners for protesting outside China's liaison office.

Sixteen Falun Gong practitioners, including four Swiss citizens and a New Zealander, had earlier been prosecuted and ordered to pay small fines for the March 2002 demonstration against China's persecution of Falun Gong.

The AP report stated: "In a ruling issued Wednesday, a three-judge panel of Hong Kong's Court of Appeal overturned the 16 protesters' convictions of public obstruction.

"'I am not satisfied that the magistrate (in the initial case) fully and fairly considered the whole of the evidence before him,' one of the judges, Geoffrey Ma, wrote in the ruling.

The court upheld the conviction of 9 practitioners on charges of "obstructing police" and against three Hong Kong residents for "assaulting police."

Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung was quoted as saying, "We're glad that the court has affirmed that a citizen's right of demonstration has to be respected, but we regret its decision to uphold the other charges."

He said he still believes that China is trying to extend to Hong Kong its suppression of Falun Gong, and that those whose convictions were upheld will appeal to Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal.

South China Morning Post report cites errors made by the original trial judge.

An article appearing in the November 11 edition of the South China Morning Post stated, "Sixteen Falun Gong practitioners had their convictions for obstructing the entrance of the central liaison office quashed yesterday in a Court of Appeal judgment that reaffirmed freedoms of assembly, demonstration and expression."

The convictions of the Falun Gong practitioners, including four Swiss nationals, for obstruction of a public place and 'doing an act whereby obstruction may accrue to a public place' were dismissed in a unanimous decision by the three judges.

"The 16 Falun Gong practitioners were convicted on August 15, 2002 by Western Court Magistrate Symon Wong Yu-wing for the obstruction and assault charges arising from a protest outside the Liaison Office of the central government."

"The three judges agreed in the 105-page judgment that Mr Wong had erred in his treatment of the facts, particularly by ignoring the video evidence submitted by lawyers for the Falun Gong and in interfering with cross-examination of prosecution witnesses by the Falun Gong's lawyers."

"They also questioned the magistrate's rationale in declaring the protesters 'disrespectful' towards the staff of the Liaison Office. They questioned the magistrate's contention that their rights had to be viewed 'against the background, history and culture of Hong Kong' and the principle of 'one country, two systems,' saying that such considerations were not relevant."

"Falun Gong spokesman Kan Hung-cheung welcomed the judgment as a testament that the group had 'successfully resisted the extension of the Jiang Zemin regime's persecution of the Falun Gong to Hong Kong' but said the group was considering going to the Court of Final Appeal to overturn the police obstruction and assault convictions of 9 practitioners."

Deutsche Presse-Agentur files report entitled, "Court overturns Falun Gong followers' convictions in Hong Kong"

The report stated that a group of Falun Gong followers had their convictions for obstruction during a protest in Hong Kong overturned by the territory's Court of Appeal Wednesday.

"The 16 Falun Gong followers, who included five overseas members from Switzerland and New Zealand, appealed against their convictions following demonstrations in March 2002."

"The arrests came as they staged a protest outside the Beijing Liaison Office in Hong Kong over the alleged detention and murder of Falun Gong members in China."

The report stated that "the prosecutions, which led to nominal fines, were the first prosecutions of Falun Gong members over demonstrations in Hong Kong, which was returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997."

"Human rights groups claim Hong Kong, run by a pro-Beijing administration, has applied subtle pressure on Falun Gong followers in response to the crackdown in China."

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