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The sun rises on the first day of Hong Kong’s Occupy movement, which brought major thoroughfares in the city to a standstill. The protest ended 79 days later. Photo: Felix Wong

Who are the nine key leaders of Hong Kong’s Occupy movement and what have they been convicted of?

  • Seven leaders facing charges at West Kowloon Court on Tuesday spoke to Post before trial to reflect on 79-day protest
  • All nine were found guilty over roles they played in Hong Kong’s 2014 umbrella movement

Nine key leaders of Hong Kong’s Occupy movement were found guilty for their role in the pro-democracy mass sit-ins in 2014 which rewrote the city’s political landscape.

The Post spoke to seven of them before the trial where they shared reflections on the movement. Civic Party lawmaker Tanya Chan and former student leader Eason Chung Yiu-wa turned down requests to be interviewed.

Benny Tai Yiu-ting, 54, associate professor at the University of Hong Kong’s law school

Verdict: Found guilty of one count of conspiracy to cause public nuisance and one of inciting others to cause public nuisance. Acquitted of one count of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance.

Legal academic Benny Tai Yiu-ting dropped a bombshell in January 2013 when he proposed the Occupy Central idea in his weekly newspaper column.

He originally envisioned mobilising only 10,000 people to block roads in the financial heart of the city to press for democracy, but the movement ended up on a scale much bigger than that.

Following Occupy, Tai remained upbeat and floated several ideas aiming to help pan-democrats prevail in elections.

That included the “ThunderGo” strategic voting scheme for the Legislative Council polls in 2016 and the ongoing “Project Storm”, which included a series of actions encouraging locals to support pro-democracy candidates in the District Council elections this year.

“The road to fight for democracy is a long one so I will keep it up. A jail term for me is only a long holiday. I will treat it as taking a long leave,” Tai said ahead of the court’s verdict on Tuesday.

“When I see problems, I keep thinking and pushing. I will hold on to my last breath regardless of whether it is a success or failure.”

Dr Chan Kin-man, 60, retired associate sociology professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong

Verdict: Found guilty of one count of conspiracy to cause public nuisance and one of inciting others to cause public nuisance. Acquitted of one count of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance

Dr Chan Kin-man used to be a moderate academic who advocated dialogue with Beijing over Hong Kong’s political reform. In 2013, he made the surprising move to join Tai in co-founding the Occupy Central movement as his frustration grew over Beijing’s lack of commitment in preparing for universal suffrage.

Chan, an expert on civil society who has been offering regular training to non-governmental organisations in mainland China for decades, has since given up his work across the border. He applied for early retirement from Chinese University last year to prepare for the trial.

“People are exhausted and frustrated, but I have not seen any data which suggests people’s values have changed,” Chan said on what he called a widespread sense of hopelessness lingering in society since Occupy.

“I think this trial will reinforce their values as they thought only people like us with such a strong belief dare to face this trial.”

(Left to right) Occupy Central co-founders Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man. Photo: Winson Wong

Reverend Chu Yiu-ming, 75, clergyman at Chai Wan Baptist Church

Verdict: Found guilty of one count of conspiracy to cause public nuisance. Acquitted of one count of inciting others to cause public nuisance and one count of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance

Reverend Chu Yiu-ming has devoted more than three decades to the fight for democracy and once described the Occupy movement as his last fight. Following the bloody crackdown at Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989, Chu was behind the legendary underground mission code-named Operation Yellow Bird to spirit hundreds of dissidents – including Beijing student leaders Wuer Kaixi and Feng Congde – out of mainland China via Hong Kong. Having the scenes of the bloodshed on his mind, Chu has said there is a huge burden and responsibility on his back during Occupy as he wants to ensure the safety of everyone in the movement.

“If churches have the courage to stand up and speak the truth in a city full of lies, it will offer Hongkongers encouragement,” Chu said, referring to a tendency for the city’s religious leaders to stay quiet on human rights violations.

“Speak out, churches. I hope each of us could bring hope to others and stop people sinking into frustration.”

Protestants and Catholics join forces in show of support for Occupy activists

Lee Wing-tat, 63, former Democratic Party lawmaker

Verdict: Guilty of one count of inciting others to cause public nuisance

Lee Wing-tat. Photo: Winson Wong

Lee Wing-tat, the former chairman of the Democratic Party, first got involved in social movements in the late 1970s when he was a student leader from the University of Hong Kong and entered the Legislative Council in 1991. Through social activism which spanned decades, Lee learned that the battle for democracy with the Communist Party in charge was no easy task.

“A lot of young people are left frustrated in the wake of Occupy because they thought they could achieve universal suffrage through one single movement,” Lee said. “I joined the fight not because I thought it would prevail. The only thing I know is nothing will change if we do nothing.”

Tanya Chan, 47, legislator of the Hong Kong Island Constituency

Verdict: Guilty of one count of inciting others to cause public nuisance and one of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance

Tanya Chan. Photo: Winson Wong

A barrister-turned-politician, Tanya Chan failed to be re-elected in the 2011 Legislative Council elections. That did not stop the Civic Party member from trying to change democratic development in Hong Kong. During the 79-day occupation, Chan was a frequent host on stage. She was re-elected in to Legco in 2016 and has been fiercely scrutinising the government on topics relating to the environment and constitutional matters.

“I sincerely hope no one will ever end up in the dock again just because they took part in a civil disobedience movement. No Hongkongers should ever become a political prisoner just because they fought for democracy,” she wrote in statement posted on Facebook on Monday.

Shiu Ka-chun, 49, legislator of the Social Welfare Constituency

Charges: Guilty of one count of inciting others to cause public nuisance and one of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance

Shiu Ka-chun. Photo: Dickson Lee

Shiu Ka-chun was often seen on stage throughout the social movement. Growing up in a low-income family, Shiu became a social worker, then a lecturer at Baptist University, before becoming a legislator in 2016, specialising in prisoners’ rights and reform to help the elderly. A year before the Occupy movement eventually took shape in 2014, Shiu was already among a group of 10 academics throwing their support behind the civil disobedience movement.

 “No longer wearing a smile on my face is the price I have to pay,” Shiu said, when describing how years of social activists had worn him out.

Raphael Wong Ho-ming, 30, vice-chairman of League of Social Democrats

Charges: Guilty of one count of inciting others to cause public nuisance and one of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance

Raphael Wong. Photo: Winson Wong

Raphael Wong Ho-ming was another familiar face at social protests. Before the present case, he was jailed for four months in another matter related to Occupy when he failed to leave a protest site in Mong Kok during the court-ordered clearance, which amounted to contempt. Sandwiched between idealist students and pragmatic founders, Wong said he sometimes felt he was a bridge to encourage exchanges.

 “Without the Occupy movement, Leung Chun-ying would have stood for a second term,” Wong said, when asked whether the movement was a failure.

Tommy Cheung Sau-yin, 24, former president of Chinese University’s student union

Charges: Guilty of one count of inciting others to cause public nuisance and one of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance

Tommy Cheung. Photo: Winson Wong

Tommy Cheung Sau-yin was widely exposed to social movements at a formative age, most notably in his role as spokesman of then student group Scholarism, now Demosisto. The group, then led by activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung, successfully forced the government to shelf a controversial national education curriculum. Cheung often stood side by side with other student leaders, including Wong, Lester Shum, Alex Chow Yong-kang and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, on stage during the movement, giving motivational speeches.

“I don’t think people will forget Occupy. All in all, it was one of the biggest events in Hong Kong’s history. But what I fear is how we perceive the movement, whether it was a complete failure or something else. We need an answer to ourselves,” said Cheung, who advocated a citywide reflection.

Eason Chung Yiu-wa, 26, former president of Chinese University’s student union

Charges: Guilty of one count of inciting others to cause public nuisance and one of inciting people to incite others to cause public nuisance

Eason Chung. Photo: Dickson Lee

Other than stage appearances throughout the Occupy protests, Eason Chung Yiu-wa was also one of five student leaders who sat down with a team led by then chief secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, now the city’s leader, for a televised negotiation.

 “I do not believe that those of us who have had a taste of freedom would be happy, at the bottom of our heart, to be a bird in a cage,” he said, soon after court was adjourned in December.

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