Around 200 protesters gathered around Justice Place in Central to demand that Secretary for Justice Theresa Cheng intervene to withdraw a controversial extradition bill and drop charges against people arrested over a chaotic demonstration earlier this month.
The protest came after an open letter was anonymously posted to the popular forum LIHKG three days ago calling on Hongkongers to rally at the offices of the Justice Department if the government, and specifically Theresa Cheng, did not respond to protesters demands — particularly with regards to the arrested protesters — by 9pm last night.
Starting around 10am today, protesters converged near the building chanting slogans like “Come out, Teresa Cheng!”, and “Release the protesters!” One protester told Coconuts HK that they had felt compelled to bring their message to Cheng’s doorstep.
“If Teresa Cheng is going to act like she is deaf and refuse to respond to our demands, then we will go to her office and tell her,” said a 17-year-old student, who declined to be named. “The Secretary of Justice is responsible for the arrests and is capable of releasing the arrested protesters; if her conscience wakes up and [she] releases the protesters, then we will have justice here in Hong Kong.”
Over a hundred anti #ExtraditionBill protesters are gathered at #HongKong's Justice Place to demand Secretary Theresa Cheng drop charges against those arrested in a June 12 demonstration. The crowd is chanting, "Theresa Cheng come out! Release the arrested!" #antiELAB pic.twitter.com/jv9afphEav
— Coconuts Hong Kong (@CoconutsHK) June 27, 2019
In the call to action on LIHKG, the poster had cited the prosecutorial code in arguing that Cheng had the power to drop the charges against those arrested on June 12 if it was deemed to be in the public interest.
Indeed, the Justice Department’s introduction to the code notes that prosecutorial discretion should be “flexible and principled,” and cites two questions that prosecutors must answer before initiating a case:
“First, is the evidence sufficient to justify instituting or continuing proceedings?” it reads. “Second, if it is, does the public interest require a prosecution to be pursued? The prosecutor must at all times act in the public interest and be guided or directed by public interest considerations in the measured and just application of the rule of law.”
One of the protesters at today’s rally, a university student surnamed Lam, said she had been to most of the protests so far, but wasn’t optimistic that today’s protest alone would have much effect.
“But there is still a chance that the government would reply and withdraw the bill,” she said. “If there is a small chance, then we should not give up, at least not right now; we should have more hope for the future and do what is right for the society.”
Protesters have successfully chased off TVB crew. There was another brief argument between a protester and a TVB staff member before they were both whisked off in opposite directions. #antiELAB #HongKong pic.twitter.com/Er9H0do16e
— Laurel Chor (@laurelchor) June 27, 2019
In contrast to the enormous peaceful marches against the extradition bill earlier this month, Protests have become more intense in recent days, with guerilla demonstrations — mostly involving students and young people — blocking streets, occupying government buildings, and even surrounding police headquarters on two occasions, most recently last night.
Just before midnight, around a thousand people broke away from a larger, peaceful anti-extradition rally at City Hall and swarmed police headquarters in Wan Chai, erecting barricades at its main entrances, covering CCTV cameras with paint and tape, and spraying graffiti on the building’s walls, RTHK reports.
Police exercised restraint, and didn’t begin to move holdouts along until the protest had largely fizzled out in the early hours of the morning. However, one person was arrested for allegedly assaulting an officer, and others had their information taken down in connection with potential property damage.
https://twitter.com/HongKongHermit/status/1143953989546860544
Protester James Wong said today that he wasn’t worried about such tactics alienating everyday citizens, at least at their current level.
“We weren’t throwing bricks or metal rods, so we are pretty peaceful now, to be fair,” he said, noting that fewer and fewer people were willing to take to the streets as the protests drag on. “I hope HKers would not give up, and fight for what’s right.”
On the other hand, Lam, the student, admitted that she was concerned that many Hongkongers would find the recent disruptive tactics “too extreme,” potentially turning public support against the protesters.
Even so, she said, “I guess we need to see how violent or extreme the demonstrators become.”
“Obviously, we never wish to hurt anybody, but if the government continues to turn a blind eye to the people’s voices, then our actions are going to escalate,” she said.
