Friday, May 6, 2005

HONG KONG In a move that encouraged supporters of judiciary independence from Beijing, Hong Kong's highest court quashed convictions on Thursday of eight members of the Falun Gong spiritual group. The eight had been convicted by a lower court of obstructing and assaulting the police during a protest three years ago against China's decision to ban the group on the mainland.

The Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong based the decision on constitutional rights to demonstrate and to engage in free speech.

"Those freedoms are at the heart of Hong Kong's system and the courts should give them a generous interpretation," the court said in a summary of its judgment.

Democracy advocates were heartened by the verdict.

"That's good news; it's important to have the court affirmation of these basic human rights and fundamental human rights," said Martin Lee, a lawyer who is the founding chairman of the Democratic Party in the city.

The demonstrators for Falun Gong, which is outlawed in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong, had been convicted by a lower court magistrate of willfully obstructing and assaulting police officers while protesting outside the Chinese government's Liaison Office on March 14, 2002.

Upholding the freedom to demonstrate peacefully as a constitutional right protected by Article 27 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Court of Final Appeal overturned that verdict.

The court ruled that the police officers had not acted properly in arresting people holding a lawful demonstration and so the demonstrators could not be prosecuted for resisting.

The demonstrators had previously been convicted of an additional offense as well, obstruction of a public place. But that decision had been quashed by a lower appellate court, the Court of Appeal, in November 2004.

"We are delighted with the decision," said Kan Hung-cheung, a spokesman for Falun Gong in Hong Kong.

"It demonstrates that Hong Kong courts are still capable of maintaining a high degree of independence and upholding the rule of law," said Kan, who said that the Chinese government had long been urging the Hong Kong government to clamp down on the organization's members.

Kan also said the decision would "set a good precedent and afford more protection to Falun Gong members as well as all members of the public who wish to exercise their constitutional right to demonstrate."

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Department of Justice said the government "respected the decision" and was studying it.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/05/news/hong.php