The SAR Police Department has finished the report on the Handover
Anniversary demonstration. According to source close to the police, the
report suggests prosecution of the demonstrators who burned a coffin in the
demonstration for breaching the public security ordinance. Whether the
prosecution will go ahead will depend on the decision of the Justice
Department.
The report names specifically Leung Kwok-hung, Ku Sze-yiu, and Lau
San-ching for "breach of peace" on July 1, 1998 with the act of burning a
coffin near the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the source
said. Legislative Councillor Lau Chin-shek said that there was no violence
in the Handover Anniversary demonstration. If the demonstrators are to be
prosecuted for disrupting public security, it will mean a suppression of the
SAR citizens' right of free expression.
Both Leung Kwok-hung and Ku Sze-yiu said they are not suprised by the
suggestion. The protest was peaceful but it was against the PRC president,
Jiang Ze-min, so it is likely the SAR government will bring a "political
prosecution" against them, they said.
Demonstrators had been trying to break through the police cordon on July
1, 1998 in order to make their protest seen by the visiting guests such as
Jiang Ze-min. Despite several attempts, they were unable to get near to the
Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition. Eventually, they burnt the coffin
that they were carrying to show their furor. Apart from a few minor injuries,
no serious act of violence happened during the demonstration.
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