Magistrate tells 'Long Hair' he should protest more rationally

A magistrate turned to Hollywood for inspiration yesterday after sentencing lawmaker 'Long Hair' Leung Kwok-hung to perform 60 hours of community service for staging an unlawful protest outside the home of Michael Suen Ming-yeung when he was housing chief.

Mr Leung and five activists were found guilty by magistrate Gary Lam Kar-yan on September 13 on one count of taking part in an unlawful assembly. All denied the charge.

After announcing the sentence, Mr Lam spent five minutes giving the six some advice, telling them to be rational and wise when fighting for their rights next time.

Mr Lam said: 'There is no doubt that our society needs certain characters to step forward to the front and fight for the people's rights. Normally, the courts will not interfere as long as it is lawful.

'I remember there was a movie, Dead Poets Society, in 1989 ... In the movie, Robin Williams, who was an English teacher, taught his class in an unconventional way. He taught his students not to be restricted and framed by the traditions and rules of the school. He told them not to blindly follow the social norms and rules, but to work for their dreams.

'The teacher taught them a Latin expression carpe diem - seize the day - and the saying 'make your life extraordinary by sucking the marrow out of life'. But one day the students broke the rules and they challenged the teacher's teaching.

'The teacher said to them that sucking the marrow out of life does not necessarily mean choking on the bone. There's time for daring and there's time for caution,' Mr Lam continued. 'Fighting for your rights requires rationality. Apart from using force, you should use your wisdom.'