11 Hong Kong lawmakers demand protest space ‘Civic Square’, made famous in 2014 Occupy sit-ins, be fully reopened
- Officials must comply with Monday court ruling which said government restrictions unconstitutional, legislators say
Hong Kong pro-democracy lawmakers on Wednesday demanded the government lift restrictions on demonstrations inside a forecourt at its headquarters – and to make their point they staged a protest there.
The 11 legislators said the government-owned space in Admiralty commonly referred to as “Civic Square” must be fully reopened to comply with a recent court ruling.
“As the judge clearly ruled the restrictions unconstitutional, the government now has no reason to restrict entry to the place,” Civic Party chairman Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu said.
A High Court judgment on Monday found the government had acted unconstitutionally by denying a retired photographer, Cheung Tak-wing, permission to hold an event at the forecourt on a weekday.
In September 2014 the area was sealed off with a three-metre-high fence but was stormed by student demonstrators that same month in a protest that triggered Hong Kong’s Occupy sit-ins. The forecourt was reopened in July last year but on the condition that no public rallies be held on weekdays and prior permission be sought for weekends.