HONG KONG - Three leading Hong Kong democracy campaigners will find out if they face jail Tuesday for their involvement in mass rallies, with their trial sparking renewed alarm over shrinking political freedoms under an assertive China.
Among the most prominent members of the group on trial are sociology professor Chan Kin-man, 60, law professor Benny Tai, 54, and Baptist minister Chu Yiu-ming, 75. The Occupy trio face three charges each of conspiracy to cause public nuisance, incitement to cause public nuisance and incitement to incite public nuisance.
At the trial, prosecutors argued that the mass protests had caused a"common injury done to the public", who had been affected by the blockage of major roads, and that the leaders of the movement deserved to be punished. "What we are facing is the most powerful autocracy in human history and we have to take back our democratic rights from its hand," a tearful Tai told his supporters, referring to China's increasingly assertive control over the city.
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Source: The Straits Times - 🏆 8. / 63 Read more »