The Falun Gong spiritual group claimed yesterday that 16 followers convicted of causing an obstruction during a protest are being treated unfairly -- after a Hong Kong court failed for a full year to rule on their appeals.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," Falun Gong spokeswoman Sharon Xu said in an interview. "It's not good for Hong Kong's image."
PHOTO: AP
About 30 Falun Gong followers staged a sit-in demonstration yesterday outside Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong -- near the scene of a protest that led to Hong Kong's first criminal charges against members of the meditation group banned as an "evil cult" in mainland China.
A magistrate convicted the 16 -- four Swiss, a New Zealander and 11 Hong Kong residents -- of creating a public obstruction during their demonstration against the mainland's deadly crackdown on Falun Gong. They claim hundreds have been killed there.
The group says its members were unfairly charged in the Hong Kong case, which it called a politically motivated measure to stifle its message.
The charges were minor and the defendants were only ordered to pay small fines. But the implications for free speech in Hong Kong could be significant, human rights activists say.
The Falun Gong followers said on appeal -- in a hearing a year ago -- that their protest had been a legal exercise of their constitutional rights. They had expected a ruling within a few weeks, but it has never come.
The group suspects that the politically sensitive nature of the case might have placed the judges under pressure, Xu said.
Chinese authorities are trying to eradicate Falun Gong, which alarmed Beijing several years ago with its organizational abilities.
But it remains legal in Hong Kong and holds frequent protests here, creating an uncomfortable situation for the Chinese territory's government.
Falun Gong says the 16 practitioners deserve a ruling because they now have criminal convictions on their records.
Xu said any unfair treatment is damaging to the "one country, two systems" arrangement set up when Britain returned this former colony to China in 1997, with guarantees of considerable autonomy -- including independent courts.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS