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In a Hong Kong under white terror, 47 families are fretting over their loved ones

蘋果日報 2021/03/05 05:19


Family members of the 47 pro-democracy figures charged under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law were unable to see them face to face throughout a four-day marathon court hearing that started on Monday. Chan Tsz-ching of Apple Daily reports from the scene.
An atmosphere of fear pervaded the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts this week. I know, because I was there. Most relatives of the 47 defendants would not speak to me, worried that anything they said might affect the bail results of their loved ones. Some would not even disclose their identities. It was understandably a difficult time for them, and after a while I backed off.
The relatives, many of whom were parents of the accused, had to watch the proceedings through a livestream in a separate courtroom as the actual venue was full. They squinted to see the 47, who were smaller than the size of a thumb on screen. There was no priority for families to enter that courtroom, so they must join the queue with everyone else early in the morning to secure seats.
One of them, the father of Wan Chai District Council chair Clarisse Yeung, almost broke down while recalling to me the sight of his daughter fainting in court on the first day. I could ask no more questions as my own tears, welling up uncontrollably, were forcing me to leave the premises for a while to calm down.
When Yeung finally got out of hospital and addressed the court herself, her father could not keep his head up as he had to constantly wipe his eyes. It was also an emotional time for Yeung’s close friend Roy Kwong, a former lawmaker who was part of last year’s pro-democracy primary as well but was not charged.
Then there was the mother of former Civic Party member Shun Lee. As he spoke in court, she listened with her head down, her eyes closed and her hands clasped.
Another woman was a picture of stoicism when it was the turn of her son, former Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, to speak. If there was any betrayal of the feelings within her, it was in the frequent fidgeting with her spectacles.
Emotional or not, all these were heartbreaking scenes. In a Hong Kong under white terror, their tears spoke volumes. But I can only continue to report and to record the truth.
Click here for Chinese version
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