Date: 2021-08-20
Mitigation plea excerpt
I have nothing to be ashamed of and no remorse for what I did on that day. The true and frequent violence is the kind of violence that ignores people’s demands, that tramples on their opinions, that deprives them of their right to express themselves. The march in Kowloon on October 20 was certainly an opportunity to reflect public opinion. Now, by imposing heavy penalties on us, the court is only punishing public opinion, suffocating the freedom of expression.
“We shall match your capacity to inflict suffering by our capacity to endure suffering. We shall meet your physical force with soul force. Throw us in jail and we shall still love you.” [Martin Luther King]
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Short bio
Raphael Wong was born on 24 October 1988. He holds a M.D. in social policy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He was one of the protest leaders during the 2014 Umbrella Revolution. Wong belongs to the political party League of Social Democrats, and held the position as its chairman until late July this year. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison for organizing an unauthorised march on 20 October 2019, thus becoming a prisoner of conscience in Hong Kong.
Source: Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong through a northern lens 