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Exclusive | Unmasked Hong Kong protester says from US: we want ‘full democracy not independence – but some violence is justified’
- Brian Leung, who removed mask after storming the legislature in July, favours non-violent means of protest but says use of force is ‘sometimes justifiable’
- The 25-year-old has no regrets and will continue his support from the United States by becoming ‘a voice of the movement’
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Exiled student activist Brian Leung Kai-ping, who shot to fame for removing his mask after storming Hong Kong’s legislature in July, said protesters were fighting not for independence but for the city’s “full democracy”.
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In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post in New York, Leung also said he supported non-violent means of protest but the use of force was “sometimes justifiable”.
He said any concessions offered by Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, such as withdrawing the extradition bill that sparked months of unrest in the city, which she has said she would do, or even setting up an independent inquiry – two of the protesters’ five demands – would “only delay the goal of achieving full democracy”.
Hong Kong people must seize the opportunity and push for that goal, the 25-year old said.
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“It’s really about fighting for something that we have been guaranteed,” he said, referring to Article 45 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, that promises selection of its chief executive and members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage.
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