HK student leader pleads not guilty

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong student protester pleaded not guilty yesterday to multiple criminal charges over a demonstration against a pro- Beijing figure, a day after the conviction of an ‘Umbrella Revolution’ leader was blasted by rights activists.

The court cases come with feelings running high in the city over fears that Beijing is tightening its grip.

Billy Fung, former president of Hong Kong University’s student union, faces a raft of charges over a protest at the university in January where students stormed a council meeting.

Supporters gathered outside the court to support Fung yesterday, a day after teenage protest leader Joshua Wong and two other prominent student activists were convicted for a protest that sparked major pro- democracy rallies in Hong Kong, known as the ‘Umbrella Revolution’.

That prosecution was slammed by rights group Amnesty International, which said the ‘ vague charges’ against Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law ‘smacked of political payback’.

Speaking outside the court yesterday, Fung said he worried other students could be targeted, after pleading not guilty to four charges — criminal intimidation, disorderly conduct in a public place, criminal damage and attempted forcible entry.

The charges all relate to the student siege of the meeting in January in protest at the appointment of pro-Beijing Arthur Li to a senior administrative role.

Around 200 students surrounded an HKU building and refused to let both Li, who is council chairman, and the vice- chancellor of the university leave the meeting, according to reports at the time.

They said Li ‘ forced’ their hand due to his unwillingness to speak with them.

Fung, now 22, was accused of shouting: “Don’t let him go! Don’t let Arthur Li go! Kill him, kill him!” according to a court charge sheet. — AFP