In the primary election of the pro-democracy party in the Legislative Council, 47 people were charged with the crime of "subverting state power". The party” and left after getting the tokens in court. Some people were filmed handing out money and putting away stacks of tokens, and there were even people of South Asian and African descent.
Gary, the leader of the queuing party in his 50s, waited in line for two nights to solicit off-lines, but was stopped by smugglers.
He exposed the inside story of the queuing party on "Hong Kong 01", and different organizations competed with each other to hire people to participate.
Reporters also lined up all night to observe how the queuing party operates outside the court.
Gary is the leader of the primary election queuing party. He once lined up outside the West Kowloon Court for two nights, but was taken away by smugglers.
(Photo by Liao Yanxiong)
1,100 yuan for overnight queuing
Gary, in his 50s, was hired by a queuing party to sell sneakers. On February 6, he learned that a friend queued up outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court and received 1,100 yuan as a reward. , West Kowloon court line, 100 yuan a clock, 12 hours, 10 pm to 10 am. On February 6, I went with a few friends.”
"Anyway, when I go to West Kowloon, I have to say hello to him, and then I have to take a selfie and send him a photo." Gary even recruited six more people to act as subcontractors, hoping to make a profit from the commission.
Gary organized a few downlines to get a ticket to audit the primary election case.
(Photo by Liao Yanxiong)
30 people jumping in line suspected to be arranged by competitors
On the two nights he queued, he arrived at about 10 o'clock. He said that after finding a seat, he could walk around, and even tried to be cut in line. "At 6 o'clock in the morning, there were about 30 young people who suddenly cut in front of us. The smuggler said to ignore others. In the morning, he queued up to enter the court and got a token, and he could leave after 15 to 20 minutes of hearing.
The middleman of the queuing party smuggler once asked Gary to take pictures to get the number of the primary election.
(Photo by Liao Yanxiong)
The smuggler said the boss contributed 20 million
Gary quoted smugglers as saying that the boss invested 20 million yuan, and 120 people lined up every day to ensure that enough people entered the court.
He admitted that he did not know the purpose of the boss queuing up for the party, which is difficult to prove.
Gary waited two nights all night. When he was looking for food from the snakehead, he was evaded many times, and he couldn't be contacted after that.
He showed the record of the conversation with the smuggler to the reporter, and called the smuggler in front of the reporter, but he couldn't get through.
When asked about the reason for queuing, Gary said that it was purely for making money. He used to queue up to sell limited edition sneakers. "I'm in charge of collecting money, so I don't ask too many questions."
+5
01 The reporter directly attacked someone who led the team to change and count the number of people all night
The reporter of "Hong Kong 01" also queued up all night to see the operation of the queuing party.
After 8 o'clock in the evening, there were already 40 to 50 people queuing up. They brought folding stools, floor mats, and sleeping bags.
Some of the people in the queue spoke Cantonese, some spoke a strong local accent, and some were of South Asian origin.
In the early morning of February 15th, there was a queuing party outside the West Kowloon Court. Someone ordered South Asians to enter and exit the line and count the number of people.
(Photographed by Hong Kong 01 reporter)
Command loudly: Tomorrow night, important people don't need to pay attention to other team members
During the period, a person suspected of being the on-site commander talked on the phone with the smuggler behind the scenes: "Another boy said he arrived, and he went to dinner with two South Asians... He said that there is a high chance that he needs someone, so he will reserve me for the time being. I will arrange it. I'll leave tomorrow morning, then I'll come back tomorrow night, and tomorrow night will last forever."
During the conversation, it was revealed that several organizations lined up together, "He said that he also has a team, not just so many people on your side, there is another one."
After queuing up for the party to get money and leaving the hall, someone snored and watched entertainment videos
The next morning, a black-clothed man suspected of directing the line walked in and out at the head of the line. At about 8:00, he arranged for two men to line up at the head. At 8:15, the line-up was arranged to enter the court area. The man in clothes ran back into the team and entered the court.
Another morning, the reporter found that the two men who were in the lead had left the courthouse 5 minutes after they got the auditorium ticket, and then boarded the MTR.
In the courtroom, some observers suspected that they were "queuing parties". During the trial, they kept entering and leaving the courtroom. Some people slept and snored in the auditorium, watching entertainment videos, but did not listen to the content of the trial.
The reporter of "Independent Media" put the snake party in the primary election case and was paid 800 yuan. The snake leader Fan Gongjian admitted that he was an intermediary who hired people to line up, saying that there was a "boss" behind him, but he didn't know the boss's purpose.
(Fan Gongjian facebook)
The smuggler admits that there is a "boss" behind him, but the purpose is not clear
"Independent Media" reporter "Fang Snake" was rewarded with 800 yuan in cash after queuing up all night to receive tickets for the public seats of the primary election. Some people took away a large number of tickets.
The "snakehead" who distributed the money was Fan Gongjian, a former director of the "SPC Young Entrepreneurs Association". Afterwards, he admitted that he was an intermediary with a "boss" hiring people to line up behind him, and said he didn't know the purpose behind the "boss".
47 people were accused of subverting state power in the primary election case of the pro-democracy camp. The trial of the case started on February 6, and staff from foreign consulates lined up to enter the venue.
(File photo/photo by Lu Yiming)
The extended court could not see the expression of the defendant or hear the ambient sound while watching the live broadcast
The 47-person case in the primary election is a high court case. Due to the large number of defendants, the third court of the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court, which can accommodate more people, is used for trial. In addition to the family and press seats, the court reserves about 400 public seats for observation, and about 40 One is in the main court, and the rest are in the four visual extension courts.
However, the extended court could not see the defendant's expression, nor could he hear the surrounding sound.
Staff of foreign consulates who want to observe must sit in the public seats.
In the past, even if the people who attended the main court left halfway, the court would not arrange for people in the extended court to fill their seats.
On February 6, the pro-democracy primary election trial began, and 47 people were charged with subversion of state power.
The League of Social Democrats demonstrated outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts.
(File photo/photo by Lu Yiming)
The court changed the arrangement and the party changed again
After the controversy caused by the queuing party, the court changed its practice. After the seats in the main court were idle for 15 minutes, they arranged to fill them up.
After the arrangement was changed, the reporter also found that those who suspected the queuing party stayed longer in the main court.
The judiciary said that it will not reserve seats for those who did not enter the court. Since the trial of the case, all members of the public queuing in line can obtain a ticket to enter the court.
The police stated that they will continue to communicate with relevant departments to ensure order and public safety, and will take appropriate law enforcement actions if any violations are found.
47 people from the democrats were accused of subversion of state power in the primary election case, and the trial began in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on February 6.
Every night, dozens to over a hundred people wait to get a ticket all night, and there are many queuing parties among them.
The picture shows the situation at around 10 o'clock in the evening on February 13.
(Photo by Liang Pengwei)
Primary election case.
Overview of the second week｜Au Nuoxuan's testimonials all started with a pan-democratic dinner.
Overview of the first week｜The prosecution opened the case and described the role of the 16 defendants in the case of the primary election and speculation｜African man lined up for his friends and claimed that he drank after the event, and the spectators had their eyes blank on the primary election.
The next day｜More than 100 people lined up in the early morning to wait for the auditorium. Some citizens said that they suspected that there was a queuing party