Police break up brawl at rally against helpers
Dozens of police officers yesterday broke up a brawl during a rally in Victoria Park against domestic helpers who are involved in a court fight for the right of abode.
Scuffles broke out between supporters and opponents of the helpers, a day before a landmark case opens in the Court of First Instance.
Just days after Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung openly appealed for calm amid the highly divisive debate, police arrested 15 men and four women, aged 17 to 42. Sixteen people were later released on bail, but the rest refused to be bailed.
About 100 members of the online group Caring Hong Kong Power gathered in the park to voice their discontent against the helpers. They intended to march to the North Point headquarters of the Civic Party. The party has remained neutral over the helpers issue but barrister Gladys Li, who is one of the party's founders, is representing one of the plaintiffs.
The group was confronted by about 30 members of Leftist Reloaded - which comprises students and alumni of Chinese University - and Socialist Action. They said Caring Hong Kong Power was encouraging racism and discrimination, and tried to stop the march starting.
One protester who rallied against the helpers said it was 'ridiculous' that the student and leftist groups tried to stop them. 'There is freedom of speech and assembly for everyone,' he said. 'They should not stop us from expressing our opinions.'
Police first tried to separate the two sides with barricades, prompting some protesters to clash with officers. A group of unidentified individuals were taken away in handcuffs.
Later, about 300 members of Caring Hong Kong Power marched in Electric Road and Watson Road to the Civic Party headquarters. They chanted slogans and left petitions outside the entrance before leaving.
Five Filipinos - two of them helpers and two former helpers - are fighting in the High Court for the right of abode, which other migrants are entitled to after living in the city for seven years. The plaintiffs in three judicial reviews want the court to declare that the rule denying helpers residency contravenes the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution.
Today, the court will hear the first judicial review, brought by Evangeline Banao Vallejos, who has worked in the city for 25 years. Li is representing Vallejos.
About 290,000 helpers work in the city - 146,000 from Indonesia and 139,000 from the Philippines.The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong has said that half a million helpers with their families would flood the city if the appeals succeeded. The Civic Party has said that it believes everyone is equal before the law and deserves proper legal representation.
