Hong Kong activist Ken Tsang released after serving sentence, dismisses Occupy amnesty call
Tsang says he has not ruled out running for office, and expresses interest in coming by-elections
Activist Ken Tsang Kin-chiu left prison on Thursday morning after serving his five-week sentence for assaulting police officers during the 2014 Occupy protests.
Some 20 supporters greeted him at the gates of Pik Uk Prison in Clear Water Bay, holding yellow umbrellas and banners with the words “I want real universal suffrage”.
Wu had said that might help reconcile society’s differences.
“I don’t really understand or agree with his statements,” said Tsang, who had clearly lost weight in jail. “Is a big reconciliation really necessary? I know society is torn apart, but solving this societal split requires addressing the source.”
“The source of this split is the government, Communist Party and Chinese government not granting us universal suffrage,” Tsang said.
“All those participating in civil disobedience... know that there is a possibility they will have to bear criminal liability. The police were not just carrying out a political objective that could be given amnesty but were blatantly hurting people. The spirit of rule of law is more important.”
Tsang said he had lost 10 pounds in jail, but his “heart was at peace” and he had taken time to think about his future. He said he had not ruled out running for legislative office to continue his fight for universal suffrage, and expressed interest in the coming by-elections.
After Tsang was arrested, seven policemen took him to an area near the protest site in Admiralty, dubbed the “dark corner”. They punched and kicked him while he lay hog-tied on the ground. The officers were convicted and jailed for two years in February for the attack.
Tsang was initially jailed for five weeks by Kowloon City Court for the assault but was granted bail pending an appeal.
He decided to abandon the appeal over his conviction last month because the seven policemen had been put behind bars.
