Hong Kong activist Edward Leung ‘likely to be watched’ after early release from prison, sources say
- ‘High-risk inmate’ jailed for rioting in Mong Kok is expected to be released on January 19
- Prominent independence activist could be monitored by law enforcers including national security agencies, source says
Jailed Hong Kong independence activist Edward Leung Tin-kei is expected to be released on January 19, with his six-year sentence reduced by a third for good behaviour, but he is likely to remain under close watch, the Post has learned.
The 30-year-old former spokesman of localist political group Hong Kong Indigenous was jailed in 2018 for rioting in Mong Kok and assaulting a police officer two years earlier.
“Don’t forget that he is the one who started the slogan, ‘Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times’,” the source said.
He was jailed for his role in the Mong Kok riot when a scuffle between street hawkers and municipal staff on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday erupted into clashes between police and a violent mob.
Leung ... is only allowed contact with about 10 inmates of the same kind, serving lengthy jail terms or even life imprisonment
Leung’s slogan, which resurfaced and was used widely during the anti-government riots of 2019, could be considered illegal under the national security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong last year.
A senior government source told the Post that Leung would be released early from Shek Pik Prison, a maximum security institution on Lantau Island, on January 19.
“Leung has been treated as an inmate with high security risk and has been closely monitored. He is only allowed contact with about 10 inmates of the same kind, serving lengthy jail terms or even life imprisonment,” the source said.
While in prison, Leung was mainly responsible for binding books, the source added.
At the Legislative Council on October 25, a lawmaker asked Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung how the government would deal with influential figures such as Leung after they left prison.
Tang replied that under the punishment and rehabilitation regime, the authorities would try to make sure that those released from prison did not reoffend.
He added: “We will take resolute action if someone has committed a crime, especially a national security offence such as inciting others or subverting the state, regardless of whether the person is or is not an ex-convict.”
In July 2019 when the city faced escalating unrest triggered by an extradition bill that would have seen fugitives sent to mainland China, Leung made an emotional appeal from jail urging protesters “not to be dominated by hatred”.
He said he was pained by bloody scenes of the protests, which continued even after the bill was withdrawn.
Additional reporting by Chris Lau
