Hong Kong democracy activist fined
By Eva Cheng
Veteran pro-democracy activist Leung Kwok-Hung was fined by a Hong Kong magistrate on February 17 and given a "good behaviour" order for six months for protesting last July 16 against the "suspension" of laws that safeguard some labour rights.
While the provisional legislature was making the changes, Leung, of April 5th Action, and two other activists broke through a police barricade and entered the public gallery chanting and raising a banner in protest. They were part of a demonstration of some 200 activists outside the legislative building and were carrying 13,000 protest signatures.
Leung was convicted of "disturbing" the legislature's sitting and of resisting officers' attempts to "perform their duties". The judge said that protesters were free to express their opinion as long as it was within the bounds of the law.
In response, Leung said the government should be controlled by a universally elected legislature and supported by an independent judiciary. The provisional legislature was hand-picked by Beijing despite opposition from a number of groups.
Following the verdict, Leung said that he, as a citizen of Hong Kong, was denied the right to speak, adding: "If I had the chance to enter the legislative building again, I would stage another protest and utilise my right to civil disobedience". Leung was barred from entering the building again unless he pledged to observe the rules.