International Herald Tribune: Trial seen as a test of liberties since handover to China

Thomas Crampton

A Hong Kong court Thursday convicted 16 Falun Gong members of offenses related to a public protest, a decision condemned by human rights groups as an infringement of civil liberties in the territory.
It was the first time Hong Kong' government had brought criminal charges against members of Falun Gong, a spiritual organization outlawed in mainland China and declared an [slanderous term used by Jiang Zemin] by China' president, Jiang Zemin..

The trial was seen as a test of China' promise of broad freedoms after the former British colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1997. The charges were brought as residents loyal to Beijing have stepped up rhetoric condemning Hong Kong-based critics of the Chinese government.

Four Swiss nationals, a New Zealander and 11 Hong Kong residents, two of whom are also U.S. residents, were convicted. All 16 were found guilty of public obstruction, and nine were convicted of willfully obstructing the police. Three were found guilty of assaulting police officers. All had pleaded not guilty.
The court fined each defendant between 1,300 and 3,800 Hong Kong dollars ($165 and $485), well below the maximum penalties, which included jail terms of up to two years. A spokesman for Falun Gong said the convictions would be appealed.

The trial itself is nothing short of persecution through government prosecution," said Law Yuk-Kai, director of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor. "The only reason the Hong Kong police intervened in this small and peaceful demonstration was for politically motivated reasons."

The protest took place March 14 and lasted for several hours in front of the Chinese government' main office for Hong Kong affairs.

Below the red flag of China, about half of the 16 protesters seated themselves in group meditation while the others unfurled a banner protesting the treatment of Falun Gong practitioners in mainland China.

Following repeated warnings from the police, the protesters were forcibly removed on grounds that they were obstructing a public thoroughfare.The Falun Gong members' defense team argued that the group' peaceful protest took up just a small portion of a sidewalk that was about 10 meters (30 feet) wide, an unusually generous size for Hong Kong. Shortly after the arrests, the Hong Kong government tore up most of the sidewalk to turn it into a flower bed, effectively preventing similar protests in front of the building.

Hong Kong invested considerable resources in building a case against the group of people who blocked part of a sidewalk. […]

John Clancey, a lawyer for the defendants, told Reuters: "If this magistrate is correct, no one can really hold any demonstration in Hong Kong." [..]