Aftenpostens: Seen From Hong Kong (Photo)

The case was trivial enough, at least at the starting point: Standing trial was a group of persons charged for obstructing the traffic on a pavement and by that braking a law that is aimed at preventing sales booths springing up everywhere in Hong Kong and checking the free traffic of pedestrians.

The Forum was also in style with the offence: A local court lead by circuit judge Symon Wong Yu-wing, well versed in cases like this. But if you threw your eyes around in the hall, you discovered fast that the case maybe was not so trivial: On the one side sat two of the most competent counsel from the Hong Kong prosecuting authority. On the defendants side sat two of the areas most experienced barristers. And in the audience a substantial international mustering of diplomats.

Protest

The explanation is simple enough: The disputed pavement is not just any pavement, but is located outside Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong. And despite the law being used, the defendants were not street vendors. They belong to Falun Gong, a spiritual movement that combine elements from Taoism and Buddhism with traditional gymnastic exercises.[Editor's note: Falun Gong is, infact, related to neither Buddhism nor Daoism]

The movement claims to have tens of millions practitioners in China, were it is being classified as en ”evil cult” and were its adherents is subjected to very harsh persecution. Hong Kong however has its own code of laws, which Beijing has promised to respect in accordance with the guarantee “one country, two systems” – the foundation on which the British colony five years ago was transferred back to Chinese control. Here Falun Gong is legal, and here 16 of the practitioners this spring used the opportunity to protest against Beijing’s treatment of their fellow-believers in China.

Falun Gong itself claims that more than 1600 of these are dead in Chinese captivity after the movement was outlawed in 1999, a number it is impossible to affirm.

"Unfair"

The demonstrators themselves claimed to have the right on their side. But Chinese authorities and Hong Kong police have a different opinion. On 14th March the 16 were detained, and recently judge Wong found them guilty in obstructing the pavement – a verdict that is already appealed to a higher instance.

-Shocking and deeply unfair, says Sharon Xu, a local Falun Gong practitioner who followed the case. -Neither police nor the prosecution could show that anybody had been hindered in trafficking the pavement, she says and points out that the demonstrators only occupied a minimum of space – seven square meters out of a total area of 140 square meters.

-The police and the authorities robs from us the right to protest, at the same time they claim to protect the code of law, she continues, and thinks the verdict in the district court will harm Hong Kong and in a longer timeframe will serve to destroy the area’s still good reputation when it comes to legal protection and freedoms.

Acid test

Hong Kong’s treatment of the area's own 500 Falun Gong or so practitioners is regarded as an acid test, a barometer if you like, for how these freedoms are protected.

-The verdict in the district court is important also for other groups which is not tolerated by Beijing, says Sharon Xu. Not the least is this situation a part of the background for the big international interest for cases against the Falun Gong demonstrators.

If the prosecution wins in the last instance with this case, it will be easier to crack down on other forms of protest later, she thinks. The political authority, which in great part is designated by Beijing, has so far been cautious with restraining the right to protest. Not the least is it important to preserve Hong Kong’s picture as a constitutional government due to economic reasons and its ability to attract international business.

Constant pressure

On the other hand is Hong Kong under constant pressure from Beijing, which does not want to give groups like Falun Gong room, and especially not when it happens right in the face of Chinese delegates or leaders.

In its utmost consequence the protest activity can therefore contribute to take away the foundation for Falun Gong in the former colony. Because if the pressure from Beijing becomes too strong, the movement can simply be outlawed here, like it is in China.

Sharon Xu don’t look at this as a dilemma:
-We have to carry forward the truth. And trying to mitigate Beijing will in the long run not serve Hong Kong’s interests, she says.