‘WE WILL PERSIST’

Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Demonstrators Convicted For 2014 ‘Umbrella’ Protests

Thousands took to the streets in 2014.

Remember the Hong Kong ‘umbrella’ protests in 2014, when thousands marched to demand to right to elect their own leader? Nine of the most prominent activists from the movement were convicted by a Hong Kong court Tuesday on public nuisance charges that could see them be jailed for up to seven years. The protests erupted after China decided that Hong Kong could only elect a leader from a list of candidates that had been pre-approved by Beijing, which many residents saw as a threat to the region's autonomy. The movement had no formal leaders, but three of the people on trial—Chu Yiu-ming, a retired pastor, and two professors, Benny Tai and Chan Kin-man—were founders of one of the main groups which advocated protests and civil disobedience. “No matter what happens today ... we will persist on and do not give up,” Tai said ahead of the verdict. The government has prosecuted 266 people over the Umbrella Movement, with 118 convicted, according to the New York Times.