Pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan spared jail over Hong Kong’s 2014 Occupy protests

Legislator Tanya Chan, the last defendant to be sentenced over Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Occupy protests of 2014, was spared jail on Monday after her medical condition was taken into account. Chan, 47, was sentenced to eight months in prison at West Kowloon Court, but suspended for two years, as the judge ruled it would be “in the interest of justice” to allow her to seek treatment. She underwent surgery for a brain tumour last month. Chan was convicted with eight other activists – including the Occupy movement’s founders Benny Tai Yiu-ting, Chan Kin-man and Reverend Chu Yiu-ming – who were found guilty for escalating the city’s largest-ever civil disobedience campaign. Tanya Chan was expected to be sentenced on April 25 with the other defendants but her lawyer revealed in court the lawmaker was suffering from a brain tumour the size of a ping-pong ball. Her sentencing was adjourned until Monday. Chan later said the benign tumour was removed on May 7, and that she was discharged from hospital a week later. However, her lawyer Wong Ching-yu SC told the sentencing judge the tumour could not be removed entirely because part of it was close to the brainstem. She had to undergo 30 sessions of radiotherapy to stem the growth and hopefully eliminate the tumour, he said. Joshua Wong back in jail despite winning appeal for lighter sentence “But it all depends on whether the radiotherapy works,” Wong said, before asking for a suspended sentence. David Leung Cheuk-yin SC, the director of public prosecutions, countered that the Correctional Services Department would provide proper medical care. But District Court judge Johnny Chan Jong-herng agreed it was “a very exceptional circumstance” and, that given the relatively short sentence, it would be in the interest of justice for her to continue treatment outside prison. The pro-democracy lawmaker wore a white dress to court to mark Sunday’s huge march against the government’s extradition bill, which she said she had been unable to attend because of her illness. More than a million people took to the streets, according to organisers, who had asked marchers to wear white. “I need to take it slow,” Chan, who has a long scar down the left side of her head, said. “My main impairment is that I still have double vision.” She required her supporters to hold her arm as she stepped into West Kowloon Court with a walking stick. Chan said she had to stay at home for now, but had visited others in jail earlier while awaiting her own sentence. Protesters took to the streets on September 28, 2014, and soon occupied major thoroughfares for 79 consecutive days. The demonstrators camped at protest sites, bringing bustling business areas to a standstill as they railed against Beijing’s restrictive framework for city leader elections. Justice department will not challenge Occupy leaders’ sentences Tai, 54, and Chan Kin-man, 60, were given the longest jail terms at 16 months, while legislator Shiu Ka-chun, 49, and Raphael Wong Ho-ming, 30, the vice-chairman of the League of Social Democrats, received eight months each. Chu, 75, had a 16-month sentence suspended for two years because of his poor health and years of contributions to society. Former lawmaker Lee Wing-tat, 63, had an eight-month term suspended for two years in light of his public service. Former student leaders Tommy Cheung Sau-yin, 25, and Eason Chung Yiu-wa, 26, who were given 200 hours of community service and eight months’ jail, had their sentences suspended because of their youth. Tai, Chan Kin-man and Chu were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. Tai and Chan were also convicted of one count of inciting others to commit a public nuisance. The three were acquitted of one count of inciting others to incite, and Chu was also cleared of one count of incitement. Shiu, Cheung, Chung and Wong, like Tanya Chan, were all found guilty of one count each of inciting others to incite and one count each of inciting. Lee was found guilty of one incitement charge. Why did Hongkongers join million-strong protest march? It’s in their DNA The protests were sparked by frustration over guidelines Beijing had laid down for the direct election of Hong Kong’s leader. Democracy activists had expected to elect a chief executive through a one-person, one-vote system with open nominations, but the framework on offer would only have offered a pool of preselected candidates. About a month after Beijing’s ruling, protesters poured into Admiralty, Wan Chai and Central, blocking major thoroughfares in the heart of the city. Police fired tear gas but failed to disperse them. The reform eventually failed in the legislature and the 2017 vote followed the model of previous years, using an election committee.

Pro-democracy lawmaker Tanya Chan spared jail over Hong Kong’s 2014 Occupy protests

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Chan was given eight months in jail suspended for two years Sentencing had been postponed after she was found to be suffering from brain tumour

Chan was given eight months in jail suspended for two years

Sentencing had been postponed after she was found to be suffering from brain tumour