Actor Gregory Wong among 4 found guilty of rioting in Hong Kong legislature during 2019 demos
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong actor Gregory Wong has been among four found guilty of rioting inside the city’s legislature on the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China during the 2019 protests.
Thursday’s verdict came after a 34-day trial that began last May in which six defendants, including Wong, pleaded not guilty to rioting. Three others – Ho Chun-yin, Ng Chi-yung and Lam Kan-kwan – were also found guilty of rioting.
Journalists Wong Ka-ho and Ma Kai-chung were found not guilty. Wong was a reporter with a student publication at the City University of Hong Kong at the time, while Ma was a reporter with Passion Times. However, both were found guilty of entering – or remaining in – the LegCo chamber.
In all, the case involved 13 defendants. The seven other – including activists Ventus Lau and Althea Suen – pleaded guilty last May. The court will hear the seven activists’ mitigation statements on Thursday.
Storming of the legislature
Protests and unrest broke out in the summer of 2019 over a controversial extradition bill that would have allowed the transfer of fugitives to mainland China. The demonstrations ballooned into a wider opposition against the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities, as well as alleged police brutality in dispersing protesters.
The storming of the Legislative Council on July 1, 2019, marked one of the major incidents in the months-long unrest. That night, protesters occupied the government building, smashing windows and spray-painting protest slogans on the walls. Some left by around 11 pm, according to the case details.
Police officers did not stop the storming. By the time officers entered the building, all protesters had left, according to a police watchdog report. Nobody was arrested in relation to the incident that night, with police only making arrests in the months after the incident.
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