Wong plans to ‘talk about Hong Kong’s human rights situation’ at conference attended by Dalai Lama
JASMINE.SIU@SCMP.COM
UPDATED : Tuesday, 22 March, 2016, 2:52pm
Ray Wong Toi-yeung outside Kowloon city court. Photo: Felix Wong
Activist Ray Wong Toi-yeung, convenor of the radical localist group accused of instigating the Mong Kok riot, is set to talk about Hong Kong’s human rights and freedoms situation at a conference attended by the Dalai Lama in India next month.
That is after Kowloon City court approved his application to change his bail conditions, allowing him to leave the city from April 26 to May 5, before his case returns for mention on May 10.
Prosecutor Ned Lai Ka-yee, who requested the adjournment to await further police investigations and legal advice from the Department of Justice, was neutral towards the application.
But Wong, a freelance interior designer, will have to pay an additional cash bail of HK$50,000 and surrender his travel documents to court within 24 hours of his return.
The 22-year-old has been released on a HK$100,000 cash bail and another HK$100,000 cash surety from his mother since he was charged with one count of rioting last month.
It was alleged that he took part in a riot with others, including members of his group Hong Kong Indigenous, on February 8 and 9 in Mong Kok.
No plea was taken before principal magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen on Tuesday.
The magistrate twice read out the list of Wong’s bail conditions, which also included a curfew from midnight to 6am, reporting to the Tseung Kwan O police station three times a week and notifying the same station 24 hours ahead of any change of address.
Wong was also reminded to stay away from restricted areas in Mong Kok, except in transit.
“I understand,” he said through an interpreter at the English hearing.
Defence lawyer Andrew Powner said outside court that Wong was to attend the 11th Inter-Ethic, Inter-Faith Leadership Conference at the Dalai Lama’s residence during his departure from Hong Kong.
Wong himself revealed he was a Tibetan Buddhist but said he will not talk about religion during the conference at Dharamshala.
“[I] will talk about Hong Kong’s human rights situation and the situation of various freedoms to civic groups of other countries and ethnicities,” he told reporters before leaving in a taxi.
The event’s organiser, Initiatives for China, is “a movement dedicated to advancing a peaceful transition to democracy in China by empowering the Chinese people to exercise their citizen rights”, according to its Facebook page.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1928758/hong-kong-indigenous-convenor-ray-wong-allowed-travel-india
