Hong Kong’s novice lawmakers: Anglican priest hopes to give jailed young protesters a second chance with studies, jobs
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The first religious lawmaker elected to Hong Kong’s legislature has vowed to bridge the social divide during his tenure by helping young people jailed for their actions in the 2019 anti-government protests to start anew.
But Reverend Canon Peter Koon Ho-ming, who recently resigned as provincial secretary general of the Hong Kong Anglican Church to focus on his legislative work, insisted the city’s freedoms remained intact despite recent crackdowns on the media and opposition activists.
Koon, 56, who was returned in the Election Committee constituency following Beijing’s “patriots-only” overhaul of the city’s political system, said he hoped to help young protesters with no record of violence get a second chance after their release from jail.
“The nature of the crimes they committed is very different. It’s about ideology and politics,” he told the Post in an interview. “Their chance of reoffending is also not high, given that the social atmosphere has already cooled down.”
