Dear Members of the Press and fellow citizens of Hong Kong:
Re: Application for August 10 Taipo Demonstration
The public is aware that the Hong Kong Police Force (hereafter “HKPF”) has issued a Letter of Objection for the Taipo Demonstration planned for Aug 10. In response, the Organising Committee for the demonstration (hereafter “The Committee”) expresses its profound indignation and deepest regret. Freedom of assembly is a universal right and is guaranteed in The Basic Law (Article 27) for all Hong Kong residents.
The HKPF has objected to the rally based on entirely unreasonable grounds. Below is a summary by The Committee on why it considers HKPF objection baseless. It is organised in three main points.
First, the HKPF has presented statistics on the number of “serious conflicts” of various magnitudes at the end of each demonstration over the past two months. Using these data points as their rationale, the HKPF made the decision to object to the Aug 10 Taipo Rally. The Committee is unconvinced by the spurious means by which HKPF conflated people’s lawful right to demonstrate with the so called “illegal charging acts”. These are two separate matters and have no causal relationship. Furthermore, the HKPF has yet to provide any evidence on how organisers from past demonstration had coordinated these so-called “illegal charging acts”. The ground for objection is a cynical obfuscation of language. It has infringed upon the rights and freedoms granted to all Hong Kong citizens by its constitution. This is an affront to all Hong Kong citizens whose core values embrace the spirit of democracy and civil liberty.
John Tse Chun-chung, Chief Superintendent of HKPF, stated in the Aug 8 press conference that each demonstration’s permit application would be assessed independently. The decision by the HKPF on the Taipo Demonstration application, however, ran counter to this promise. The Committee strongly condemns HKPF’s blatant disregard of Hong Kong’s constitutional provisions and its infringement on Hong Konger’s freedom of assembly, association and demonstration.
Second, HKPF has supposedly reached its decision to reject the application upon countersignatures from the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Tai Po District Council as well as 13 other District Council members. The Committee questions on what legal grounds are the District Council members granted the power to override Hong Kong citizens’ right of assembly which was guaranteed in the Basic Law? The denial of basic rights owing to the concerns from District Council members is entirely without precedent.
Furthermore, if the Letter of Objection was issued based on the objection of 15 members from the District Council, would it have made a difference if signatures collected from citizens and other members of the District Council in support of the demonstration outnumbered those against, as it would have been a clear indication of a broader public mandate? To that end, The Committee had in fact organized several district consultation programmes to gauge public opinion and the response had been positive. The Committee reiterates citizens’ right to demonstration does not require permission from the District Council.
Third, with regard to the routing arrangements for the demonstration, the HKPF claimed that The Committee had been uncooperative during the negotiation process and was unable to satisfy the HKPF’s demands. The Committee hereby expresses deep disappointment towards these spurious claims. During the negotiation process, the HKPF had repeatedly proposed unreasonable changes to the time and route of the demonstration. And The Committee had in fact been cooperative throughout the process, in hopes of reaching an agreement with the HKPF. For instance, the HKPF had proposed ending the demonstration at Kwong Fuk Football Ground, and The Committee had agreed. However, in the Letter of Objection, the HKPF asserted that The Committee had not obtained approval for use of the venue from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The Committee is not clear why the HKPF had made this contradictory claim. This is clearly a distortion of truth in order to suppress the rights of the residents of not only Taipo, but that of all Hong Kong people, thereby infringing upon Hong Kong citizens’ right and wish to voice their opinion.
The Committee reiterates its indignation and condemnation towards the HKPF’s decision, and reaffirms the five core demands in its entirety.
Press contact: Mr Chan 6077-0032
