Press Release - August 15, 2002

In response to media enquiries, a spokesman of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Canada) (HKETO) said today (August 15) that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government fully respects the decision handed down by the Hong Kong Court on the 16 Falun Gong members who were prosecuted for breaching the laws of Hong Kong.

The 16 Falun Gong members were prosecuted for causing obstruction in a public place, committing an act that could obstruct a public place, obstructing a police officer and assaulting police officers during a sit-in outside the main entrance of the Liaison Office of the Chinese Central People��s Government in Hong Kong on March 14, 2002. As the Falun Gong members ignored the Police��s repeated requests to move to an adjacent location, they were subsequently arrested and charges were laid against them.

The trial started on June 17, 2002 and the Magistrate handed down his decision on August 15, 2002. Being convicted of the charges laid against them, the 16 Falun Gong members were fined HK$300 to HK$1,000 for each convicted charge.

In handing down the decision, the Magistrate made the following points:-

- Political consideration played no part in his decision.

- The issue under consideration was whether the activities undertaken by the group of protestors constituted obstruction to the general public. He would have dealt with the case in the same way if, for example, the demonstrators were Tai Chi practitioners.

- Having considered all the evidence very carefully, he concluded that the prosecution has been able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendants had committed the offences in question.

The HKETO spokesman said: ��Hong Kong is an open and free society which subscribes to the rule of law. Under the ��One country, two systems�� principle provided for under the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government remains fully committed to the protection of fundamental rights and freedom, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion and assembly.

��We will implement the Basic Law faithfully, and protect the ��Two Systems�� under ��One Country��. As long as the Falun Gong abides by the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, their freedom of activities will be fully respected.��


For more information, please contact John Tam, Chief Information Officer of Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office at (416) 924-5544 or e-mail: [email protected] or Elison Chu, Senior Information Officer, at [email protected].