Hong Kongs High Court orders Occupy protesters in Mong Kok to leave immediately 香港高等法院命令示威者佔據旺角立即離開 (By Joyce Ng and Thomas Chan) Hong Kongs High Court has ordered pro-democracy protesters in Mong Kok to leave the area immediately, granting injunctions in two cases against the demonstrators. The two injunctions were granted at about 6.45pm to representatives of the Taxi Association and the Taxi Drivers and Operators Association in one case, and to representatives of the Chiu Luen Public Light Bus Company in another. The orders are effective immediately. Mr Justice Jeremy Poon Shiu-chor, of the Court of First Instance, accepted the arguments of lawyers acting for the plaintiffs that the occupations in Mong Kok have continued for a long time and had caused public nuisance and “inconvenience”. The judge also said that there had been violence at the protest sites, adding that prolonged occupation could lead to more violence between police and protesters. The orders are imposed on “persons occupying portions of Nathan Road” but do not identify any individuals. Hundreds of protesters remain on the streets of Mong Kok despite an initial protest camp and road blockades being cleared by police on Friday. Police have accused the demonstrators of instigating violence and charging police cordons, while the demonstrators have said that police have used excessive force and had themselves instigated chaos by charging stationary protesters. The protesters taking part in the occupation in Mong Kok, while associated with a wide variety of causes, have been united in their calls for the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and for the central government in Beijing to allow an open election of the next chief executive. Beijing, through an August ruling of the national legislature, has said that the citys next leader can be elected by universal suffrage - but the shortlist of candidates must be approved by a 1,200-strong committee likely to be stacked with staunch supporters of the central government. In the first case, the plaintiffs asked the court to order people occupying “portions of Nathan Road near to and between Argyle Street and Dundas Street” to leave. In the second case, the injunction is against those occupying the “westbound carriageway of Argyle Street between the junction of Tung Choi Street and Portland Street”. The injunctions will be announced to protesters at the specified locations in Mong Kok and will also be published in one Chinese-language and one English-language newspaper. At the protest site, People Power lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip told demonstrators that he was talking to legal experts about ways to fight the courts decision. We have spoken to some barristers and solicitors and they said there is room for appeals, he said. He also warned protesters of the raised stakes should they choose to remain. Contempt of court, he pointed out, could lead to a custodial sentence.
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 12:44:03 +0000
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