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Hong Kong student leader Wong back in court over protest
by Staff Writers
Hong Kong (AFP) Aug 28, 2015


China toughens laws, but reduces crimes subject to death: Xinhua
Beijing (AFP) Aug 29, 2015 - China on Saturday amended the country's criminal law, tightening corruption sentencing, reclassifying sex with underage prostitutes as rape and eliminating the death penalty for nine crimes, state media reported.

The standing committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) said people convicted on serious corruption charges and who were handed death sentences suspended for two years will have those converted to life in prison after the two-year period, the official Xinhua news agency said.

The change is to "safeguard judicial fairness" and prevent "the most corrupt criminals from serving shorter prison terms through commutation", Xinhua quoted the NPC as saying.

Ruan Qilin, a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law, said that the change to corruption sentencing was aimed at officials who use illegal means to have their sentences commuted or to achieve parole or non-prison sentences, the agency reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has launched a much-publicised drive to crack down on corruption, vowing to take on both senior as well as low-level officials.

Critics, however, say there are no safeguards against the campaign being used for political purposes and that no systemic reforms have been introduced to fight graft.

China also repealed the crime of sex with prostitutes who are underage and instead made it rape, a crime subject to harsher punishment, Xinhua said.

Previously under the law, people who had sex with prostitutes aged below 14 years old faced a maximum of 15 years in prison, according to the agency.

It added that those convicted of raping a child may face the death sentence.

Prostitution is illegal in China but an estimated several million sex workers operate from establishments including karaoke bars, hair salons, saunas and massage parlours.

China's public security ministry ordered a nationwide crackdown on the sex trade last year following an expose of a city known for prostitution amid criticism that authorities long turned a blind eye.

The NPC also approved the removal of the death penalty for nine crimes, Xinhua said.

These include smuggling of weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials and counterfeit currency; the counterfeiting of currency; fraudulently raising funds; arranging for a person or forcing a person to carry out prostitution; the obstruction of duty of a police officer; and creating rumours during wartime to to mislead people.

Xinhua said that the maximum penalty for those crimes would become life in prison.

Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong was back in court Friday over an anti-China protest, a day after he faced new charges related to a pro-democracy rally.

Wong, 18, has accused the authorities of "political prosecution" as they hit him with a raft of cases.

"The government and police have a political agenda," Wong told AFP at court Friday.

The charges he faces relate to various protests between June and November last year.

"I think it's quite unreasonable. They could have taken us to court last year... It's meaningless," he said.

Wong became the teenage face of the pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement" that gripped Hong Kong for more than two months at the end of 2014.

Protesters were calling for free elections of the semi-autonomous city's next leader, opposing a blueprint laid down by Beijing which would have meant candidates were vetted by a loyalist committee.

That reform package was voted down by legislators in June, in an unprecedented rebuke to Beijing.

Friday's hearing concerned a small anti-China protest last June -- ahead of the major rallies -- which saw dozens gather outside Beijing's representative office in Hong Kong.

They were opposing a "white paper" from China that asserted its control over the semi-autonomous city and a reproduction of the document was burned.

Wong, student leader Nathan Law, 22, and activists Raphael Wong and Albert Chan have been charged with obstructing police at the June incident.

All have pleaded "not guilty".

The case was adjourned Friday until October 26 when there will be a stay of proceedings hearing.

"They've known about this since the day of the arrests," said Wong's lawyer Michael Vidler.

"Why haven't they proceeded? We're saying it's politically motivated."

Wong and Law were also charged Thursday over a student protest in September which helped spark the widespread democracy rallies.

Wong faces further charges over a democracy rally last November, but said he was determined to keep campaigning.

"Sometimes because of the court, I can't go to school -- it really affects my daily life and my academic process," Wong told AFP on Friday.

"It's frustrating and tiring, but I still think it's worth paying the price."

Wong said his campaign group, Scholarism, would be announcing a new strategy in September.

It will coincide with the September 28 anniversary of the start of the democracy rallies -- the date when police fired tear gas at protesters, galvanising thousands more to come out in support of the movement.

Wong called for universal suffrage in the short-term and "self-determination" as a long-term goal after 2047, when the 50-year agreement to protect Hong Kong's way of life, which took effect when Britain handed the city back to China in 1997, comes to an end.

"I'm still optimistic... but of course it's hard for us to change the system in the next two or three years.

"We just hope to gather and strengthen civil society to fight for us in the future," Wong said.


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