HK government had sought $30,000 and a lifetime promise not to protest at immigration HQ, but settles for neither
Three activists celebrated victory yesterday after the Hong Kong government dropped its ultimatum for them to accept curbs on the right to protest or face further legal action - without wringing any concession from the trio.
The Department of Justice had been seeking to make permanent the terms of a temporary injunction banning them from staging protests inside Immigration Tower, and wanted $10,000 from each of the activists towards its legal costs. But it has agreed to withdraw the injunction and the demand for contributions to its costs, and end the threat of further civil action.
'My clients have made no legally binding promises about what they would or would not do. They can continue to protest,' said Eric Cheung Tat-ming, a University of Hong Kong law professor who represents the trio - 'Female Long Hair' Lui Yuk-lin and Cheung Cho-chang and Lin Tao-cheng, the parents of abode-seekers.
He was speaking after reaching the settlement with Secretary for Justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie. It was agreed after the trio declared that they '[have] never, and will not, conduct any actions outside the rights of peaceful demonstration in Immigration Tower [which would constitute a disturbance or affect others' use of the office]'.
Cathy Wong Pui-ming, the department's senior law officer, attended yesterday's meeting with Professor Cheung. She denied the government had compromised and said the settlement fufilled its wish to prevent a recurrence of incidents during a right-of-abode protest on April 22 last year, during which the trio allegedly scuffled with police.
'At no time did we want to suppress people's rights to protest. If they protest peacefully and lawfully, we don't have any fear. All we wanted to do was to ask them to assure us that they will not cause disturbance and interference with other people's rights, which they have done,' she said.
