Elderly activist who displayed banners at Hong Kong’s Lion Rock did not breach law as act was impermanent, lawyer says
Hong Kong Free Press
An elderly activist who took banners to a Hong Kong park did not breach the law because his act of displaying them was not permanent, his lawyer has argued.
Chan Ki-kau, 78, appeared at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Wednesday morning to hear the closing arguments from the prosecution and the defence. He is on trial for allegedly violating country park laws after displaying banners atop Lion Rock with a Chinese phrase that suggests standing firm when faced with condemnation last September.
Under the Country Parks and Special Areas Regulations, visitors cannot display signs, notices, posters, banners or advertisements in places under the regulations unless they have permission.
Barrister Jeffrey Tam, who is representing Chan, argued that the activist’s display of the banners was not permanent. He said photos the prosecution showed to the court on the first day of the trial in September were all taken on September 28 last year.
There was also no evidence that Chan took the banners to Lion Rock more than once, Tam added.
In making his argument, the barrister cited a Court of Final Appeal ruling in 2021, which stated that a law prohibiting the display of posters without permission on the city’s streets under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance defined posters as something displayed with “a degree of permanence and habitual regularity.”
Prosecutor Sezen Chong, however, said she did not think the ruling applied to Chan’s case as the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance was very different from the Country Parks Ordinance.
An act without elements of permanence or habitual regularity can still cause a negative impact, Chong said, giving the example of a tour group in a country park.
A tour guide who raises a banner or a flag to lead visitors is behaviour that is one-off and brief, the prosecutor said, but it might still cause disturbance to others in the park and affect the environment.
Tam countered that there are already under laws under the Country Parks and Special Areas Regulations dealing with the prevention of nuisance.
If the content of the banners was more serious, there was other legislation – such as the national security law – to handle such a suspected offence, he said.
The prosecution’s interpretation of the laws prohibiting the display of posters was therefore wider than necessary, Tam added.
Magistrate Kestrel Lam will deliver his verdict on December 10. Chan faces a fine of up to HK$2,000 or three years’ imprisonment.
‘A willing ox’
The elderly activist was arrested last September around a week after holding up two scrolls with a Chinese couplet penned by famous writer Lu Xun on the Lion Rock.
The banners read: “Fierce-browed, I coolly defy a thousand pointing fingers. Head bowed like a willing ox, I serve the children.”
During the first day of the trial last month, the prosecution showed the court videos and photos of Chan holding up three sets of banners published by The Epoch Times. In addition to the Lu Xun couplet, Chan also had in his possession two other couplets, the court heard.
The prosecution summoned three witnesses, including two police officers who stopped Chan while they were patrolling Lion Rock. The third prosecution witness was an officer at the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, who confirmed that the department had not received any applications from Chan to display banners.
Chan did not testify during the trial. He also did not call any witnesses.
Nicknamed “Grandpa Chan,” the activist is a member of Protect Our Kids, a pro-democracy group founded during the protests and unrest of 2019. The protest movement was sparked by a controversial amendment to the city’s extradition bill that would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects to mainland China to stand trial.
Chan was known for his presence on the front line of demonstrations, urging calm as protesters faced off against police officers. He also took part in a hunger strike during the early days of the movement.
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