Asking for donations an exercise in free speech, Hong Kong democracy advocate Chan Po-ying tells court
Hong Kong Free Press
Calling for donations is an exercise in the freedom of speech, the head of one of Hong Kong’s last remaining opposition parties has said in an appeal against her conviction over collecting money in a public place without a permit.
Chan Po-ying, the chairperson of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), appeared at the High Court’s Court of First Instance on Tuesday morning. She was fined HK$1,000 last year over displaying QR codes linked to the party’s Patreon page at a street booth in 2021.
Judge Frankie Yiu said he had read the written submissions from the appellant and the Department of Justice, and that the main controversy in the case was whether it involved collecting money publicly.
Representing Chan, barrister Anson Wong said on Tuesday that the case did not fit the definition of “money collection,” as spelled out in the law, according to The Witness. Even if it did, the transactions were done online, not in a public place.
He added that appealing for donations was an exercise in freedom of speech, similar to if somebody were to promote the donation hotline for local charity group Tung Wah Group of Hospitals on the streets.
The LSD is one of Hong Kong’s last remaining active opposition parties, occasionally holding street booths and petitions even as other civil society groups have disbanded or gone silent since Beijing imposed a national security law in 2020.
HK$1,800 in fines
Chan and two LSD volunteers, Christina Tang and Ho Wing-yat, were charged with collecting money in public without a permit at street booths in Mong Kok in July and August 2021.
Banners at the booth read “Donate to support Long Hair” – referring to Chan’s husband and the LSD’s vice-chair Leung Kwok-hung, who is currently on trial in the city’s largest national security case. A QR code linked to the party’s Patreon profile was printed below the slogan.
Chan and Tang were found guilty, while Ho was found not guilty. Handing down the verdict last March, deputy magistrate Cao Yuan-shan said he agreed with the prosecution that the method of collecting money should not be restricted to receiving cash physically.
The party chair was fined HK$1,000 while Tang was fined HK$800.
Outside the court, Chan said that the verdict could have a severe impact on the way small parties raise funds and “the room for us to exist has again shrunk.”
Judge Yiu said on Tuesday that the verdict of the appeal would be delivered on August 27.
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