Joshua Wong and fellow Occupy activists join protest march before expected jail time

Organisers claim 2,000 people in attendance, with government’s handling of ousted lawmakers a rallying point

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The government’s handling of lawmakers who altered their oaths and were ousted was a sore point for many protesters on Sunday. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 9:01pm, 3 Dec 2017Updated: 10:58pm, 3 Dec 2017

Convicted Occupy leaders including Joshua Wong took to the streets in Hong Kong to oppose “authoritarian rule” one last time on Sunday, days before they were expected to serve time in jail.

Event organisers said 2,000 people joined the march from Southorn Playground in Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal in Central over a series of recent court cases, including the imprisonment of the pro-democracy movement activists and the disqualification of four opposition lawmakers.

Police estimated 1,800 people attended the protest.

The demonstration was also prompted by the government’s recent demand that the four Legislative Council members ousted over improper oaths each return paid salaries and allowances of up to HK$3.1 million. Protesters called the efforts “blatant political persecution”.

Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Lester Shum and Raphael Wong Ho-ming were among the convicted Occupy leaders chanting “No fear of the authoritarian era. Oppose political persecution” during the march.

They were all convicted of contempt of court for obstructing a court-ordered clearance of a key demonstration site in Mong Kok during the 79-day pro-democracy movement of 2014.

The march went from Southorn Playground in Wan Chai to the Court of Final Appeal in Central. Photo: Winson Wong

Imprisonment was expected for them, with the court due to hand down a sentence this Thursday.