A Hong Kong court on Dec. 12 convicted seven people, including former Democratic Party lawmaker Lam Cheuk-ting, of rioting during the controversial 2019 Yuen Long attack after an anti-extradition bill march. Sentencing was postponed.
The Extradition Bill proposed in April 2019 would have allowed crime suspects to be sent from Hong Kong to mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan for legal assistance. It sparked a series of mass protests against the bill’s perceived erosion of Hong Kong’s legal autonomy.
On the evening of July 21, 2019, Lam, who had been participating in protests in Central, Hong Kong Island, rushed to Yuen Long after receiving reports from constituents about white-shirted men violently attacking citizens. Thirteen months after the incident, Lam was arrested by Hong Kong police and charged with rioting and inciting violence.
On July 21, 2019, in Hong Kong’s Yuen Long district in the New Territories, more than 100 men showed up in white shirts and indiscriminately attacked protesters returning home after the anti-extradition march. Members of the public and journalists were also caught up in the violence, which left 45 people injured, one critically.
The white-clad men, armed with sticks and clubs and most wearing masks, chased and beat up passers-by around Yuen Long Station on the West Rail Line. They broke into the station concourse and platforms, assaulting passengers on the train and on the platforms. They also broke open the gates of the MTR station, which had been locked at the request of the police, and beat up members of the public who had taken refuge inside the station.
Police Response and Arrests
The police have been criticized for their delayed response. They said their response time of 39 minutes for the first emergency call exceeded their 15-minute service commitment for the district. They later revised their timeline, saying that two officers arrived at the scene within 11 minutes, and took longer to call for reinforcements. A report by the Independent Police Complaints Council found that the white-shirted assailants left Yuen Long station at 11:14 p.m., while the police arrived at 11:15 p.m.
Fewer than 70 people were arrested in connection with the incident, and 14 white-shirted suspects were eventually charged. Of these, eight were convicted and seven were sentenced to prison.
Court’s Ruling
Judge Chan Kwong-chi, appointed under the National Security Law, delivered the verdict on Thursday. He rejected Lam’s claim that his presence as a lawmaker was intended to mediate and keep the peace. Instead, the judge cited Lam’s Facebook posts on the night of the attack, which he said created a “magnet effect” by suggesting triad involvement and attracting more people to Yuen Long.The judge also criticized Lam for urging people not to act alone rather than dispersing the crowd and for telling those inside the station to “hold their ground.” He ruled that Lam’s actions were not those of a mediator and convicted him of rioting.
Public Reactions and Political Fallout
The Yuen Long attacks were described by some as “Hong Kong’s darkest day.” The now-defunct pro-democracy Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions alleged the incident as blatant “police-triad collusion.” Similarly, the now-disbanded Civic Party criticized the violence and police inaction, accusing the government of tolerating police misconduct and allowing violent incidents to recur. The Democratic Party, whose members were among those attacked, condemned the government and the police for their perceived failure to act.Then Chief Executive Carrie Lam and other senior officials condemned the attack and described it as a “conflict” and a “collective brawl.” When Lam, the former lawmaker, was arrested in 2020, the police said the incident was a “confrontation and gathering of people with different views near Yuen Long station, which turned into violent clashes.”
