The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government welcomed the Court of Final Appeal's decision to dismiss the appeals of media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and six former lawmakers to overturn their conviction for participating in an unauthorized assembly during the 2019 social unrest.
In a statement, the HKSAR government said it wlecomes the CFA's judgment on Monday that the defendant's applications for leave to appeal on the ground of challenging the trial judge's factual findings had been refused.
The defendants include Lai, founder of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, and former lawmakers Lee Cheuk-yan, Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, Leung Kwok-hung, Cyd Ho Sau-lan, Albert Ho Chun-yan and Martin Lee Chu-ming.
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In 2021, they were convicted of organizing and taking part in a large-scale assembly at Victoria Park on Aug 18, 2019, which had been banned by police on security grounds. An appellate court later upheld their convictions for participating in the unauthorized assembly, but quashed their conviction for organizing the assembly, reducing their sentence.
Monday’s case centered on whether Hong Kong's courts should align fully or partly with two UK Supreme Court decisions cited by the appellants to back their appeal.
Highlighting the divergent frameworks for human rights challenges in the SAR and the UK, the CFA held that the two UK decisions should not be followed in Hong Kong, and rejected the appellants' argument that each of defendant's arrest, prosecution, conviction and sentence must be separately justified as proportionate.
In its statement, the HKSAR government reiterated that Hong Kong residents have the right to peaceful assembly and procession conducted in accordance with the law.
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However, these rights must be exercised lawfully to ensure the safeguarding of national security, public order, public safety and the protection of the rights and freedom of others. The impact of such public events on members of the public should also be minimized.
"Hong Kong residents have the obligation to abide by the laws in force in the HKSAR. Equality before the law is one of the fundamental facets of the rule of law, and all persons, regardless of race, rank, politics or religion, are subject to the laws of the land, " a government spokesman said.
