A ‘noble’ cause: 13 Hong Kong activists who stormed Legco spared jail
Magistrate tells protesters who opposed rural development that speaking up for others ‘is by no means wrong’
Thirteen protesters who stormed Legco two years ago were spared jail terms yesterday by a magistrate who said rallies sometimes served a noble cause.
Before sentencing the defendants to community service in Eastern Court, Jason Wan Siu-ming said: “It could be noble not only because people act for themselves, but they speak up for those that are ignored.
“To speak up and express an opinion for others, especially those who are repressed, is by no means wrong.”
The 13 had taken part in an unlawful assembly on June 13, 2014, when they stormed into the Legislative Council in Admiralty in protest at controversial government plans to develop the northeastern New Territories.
They were not unleashing violence nor hurting people in order to get others to change their views or listen to them
Wan was told that the defendants joined the assembly on the day because they wanted to speak up for villagers who might face eviction as a result of work on new towns.