Assemblies, processions show people's freedom fully protected in Hong Kong: HKSAR govt

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government said that Sunday’s procession, as well as the 50,000 public assemblies and demonstrations held over the past five years, are the testimony to the freedom enjoyed by Hong Kong people.

Earlier Sunday, police said they had seized a semi-automatic pistol, 105 bullets and other prohibited weapons suspected to be used by radicals.

A spokesman for the HKSAR government said yesterday evening in a statement that the freedom of speech, the press, publication, association, assembly, procession and demonstration is protected by the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and other legislation.

Provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as applied to Hong Kong also remain in force, he added.

The remarks came after a public gathering held at the Victoria Park yesterday and a following procession finished at Chater Road in the Central district.

The events were largely peaceful but violent acts were still reported as some rioters set fire outside two Hong Kong courts and vandalized shops.

The police said in a statement that rioters threw petrol bombs outside the High Court and the Court of Final Appeal adjacent to the finishing point of the procession in the evening. The exterior walls of the High Court were also spray-painted.

The cases were classified as “arson” and will be investigated by the Central District Investigation Team, the police said.

The HKSAR government will not condone any acts of sabotage against the Judiciary or damage to the rule of law, the Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a statement, adding that arson is a serious offense and the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

The arson not only disrupted social peace but also undermined Hong Kong’s reputation of being governed by the rule of law, the DoJ said.

Besides, a group of violent protesters vandalized shops and a bank in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai. Some participants deviated from the approved route and occupied part of Gloucester Road and Des Voeux Road Central.

The police warned against the illegal acts posing threat to public order and safety. Participants of the public event were asked not to deviate from the approved route and advised to disperse after the assembly.

Senior Superintendent Li Kwai-wah of Organized Crime and Triad Bureau said it was the first time that a handgun had been seized during demonstrations.

The police had received information suggesting that some members of a radical group, which had participated in an unlawful assembly on October 20 and attacked the Mong Kok police station with a large number of petrol bombs, were planning to use weapons including guns to create chaos and attack the police during yesterday’s demonstration, Li said.

The police mounted an operation at 11 locations in various districts of Hong Kong.

In the Fortress Hill area on the Hong Kong Island, the police seized a 9mm semi-automatic Glock pistol, five magazines, three of which were already loaded with bullets. Three daggers and some sabres were also seized.

Eight males and three females, aged between 20 and 63, have been arrested during the operation.