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Occupy Central
Hong KongPolitics

Beijing accuses veteran pan-democrat of foreign collusion after Occupy protesters jailed

The attack came as the city’s justice minister Justice Rimsky Yuen denied the jailed trio were victims of political ­persecution.

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Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung said that differences in opinion contributed to ‘constructive discussion’. Photo: Felix Wong
Tony Cheung

Beijing singled out a leading Hong Kong opposition figure for ­scathing condemnation on Friday, accusing him of colluding with foreign forces to criticise the jailing of three student leaders.

The attack came as the city’s justice minister denied the jailed trio were victims of political ­persecution.

And in a rare move, the city’s two biggest legal professional bodies jointly hit out at both local and international media for ­suggesting there were political motives behind the six to eight-month prison terms for Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang.

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(From left) Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Alex Chow Yong-kang protest outside the High Court. Photo: Edward Wong
(From left) Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Alex Chow Yong-kang protest outside the High Court. Photo: Edward Wong

The Court of Appeal on Thursday increased the Eastern Court’s original community service and suspended jail sentences handed out to the trio for storming the government ­headquarters ­compound at ­Admiralty during an illegal protest that triggered the 79-day Occupy sit-ins of 2014.

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Beijing lashed out at veteran unionist and former lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan for posting on his Facebook page a US Congressional panel statement criticising the jailing of the trio as well as 13 other democracy activists this week over another violent protest as “political prosecutions intended to curtail freedom of speech”.
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