HONG KONG - A Hong Kong court on March 11 convicted prominent social worker Jackie Chen of rioting, following a retrial after the government appealed against her initial acquittal.
Chen pleaded not guilty and declined to testify during her retrial on a rioting charge related to an incident in 2019 when she used a megaphone to urge police to exercise restraint as pro-democracy protests swirled in the China-ruled city.
“Don’t worry. Take care of yourselves,” Chen told relatives and supporters after Deputy District Judge May Chung found her guilty, following the retrial ordered by the Court of Appeal.
In her verdict, Judge Chung said Chen’s remarks would “indeed encourage the protesters to continue to confront the police” and “encourage them to continue to engage in acts that disrupt or threaten to breach the peace”.
Chen had initially been cleared of the rioting charge by District Court Judge Sham Siu-man in 2020 on the grounds that prosecutors had failed to make out a case against her, but the Justice Department appealed against that ruling.
Before the March 11 verdict, Chen said she had prepared for the worst. She said she was only trying to mitigate tensions that day, adding: “I hope everyone can remain kind, conscientious and safeguard justice.”
While awaiting the verdict, she continued to work as a social worker and supported others being prosecuted.
Five character witnesses vouched for her social work and disaster relief efforts including after the South Asian tsunami in 2004 and 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
Chen, part of the Battlefield Social Worker group during the 2019 protests, was often seen with a loudhailer, liaising between protesters and police officers, monitoring police action and offering emotional support to people.
Hong Kong passed a Bill in 2024 allowing its Social Workers Registration Board to disqualify social workers convicted of national security offences, among others that could bring the profession “into disrepute”.
The conviction could cost Chen her licence as a social worker.
REUTERS
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