公民抗命 無怨無悔
今天佔中案九名被告決定不認罪，為的是對抗政治檢控、還歷史一個公道。
公民抗命的原意並非要破壞法治。以此手段來爭取普選，是希望法律得到人民授權，才能鞏固法律的權威，以法達義。部份被告曾公開承諾接受法律責任，但同時要考慮控罪是否合法合理、舉證是否合乎事實、以及對公民權利是否有損。
君子坦蕩蕩，有幾位被告曾在2014年12月3日向警方自首，並於2015年1月24日被捕，當時被警誡可能觸犯未經批准集結的罪行。假如政府按上述罪行進行檢控，佔中三子及部分被告將不作出法律抗辯。但在2017年3月27日，林鄭月娥當選為特首翌日，九名被告再次被捕，罪名卻改為普通法中的合謀、煽惑及煽惑他人煽惑造成公眾妨擾。這些控罪在2017年6月15日被當時處理此案的郭啟安法官質疑是否重疊。事實上，在香港從未有人被控煽惑他人煽惑罪，而澳洲最高法院已裁定以該罪檢控公民是違憲行為。此外，合謀罪是以佔中三子的公開發言為罪證，而且渉罪人群牽連甚廣，除了三子之外，還包括佔中糾察、義工及支持者。控罪一旦成立，將產生寒蟬效應，政府更可能據此進一步清洗香港整個民主陣營。
由於此等控罪賦予政府過度檢控權、有損言論及集會自由，九被告一致決定不認罪。戴耀廷及陳健民將出庭作證，親身反駁政府的指控，並還原歷史的真相。公道自在人心，雨傘運動的爆發，源於違憲的８３１決定和梁振英政府無理使用催淚彈鎮壓和平示威者。
我們對參與雨傘運動無怨無悔。政府可以清場 ，卻清不了人心。牢獄可以監禁我們的身體，卻禁錮不了我們的靈魂！
戴耀廷、陳健民、朱耀明、陳淑莊、邵家臻、張秀賢、鍾耀華、黃浩銘、李永達
We plead not guilty. We have no regrets
Today, the nine defendants in the Occupy Central case decide not to plead guilty in order to combat political prosecution and restore the authenticity of history.
The aim of civil disobedience is not to challenge rule of law. Rather, striving for universal suffrage through this means ensures that laws will be made by people and receive proper public mandate, such that the authority of the law is consolidated and justice is upheld. Although some of the defendants have vowed to bear legal responsibilities, we must also consider whether the charges are lawful and reasonable, whether the presented evidence is in accordance with the facts, and whether the case sets a precedent that is detrimental to civil rights.
A man of integrity has nothing to fear and nothing to hide. Several of the defendants have turned themselves in to the police on 3 Dec 2014, and were arrested on 24 Jan 2015. They were cautioned against the possibility of being charged with unlawful assembly. Had the government pressed such charges, the Occupy Trio and some of the defendants would not have filed legal defense. However, on 27 Mar 2017, the day after Carrie Lam was elected Chief Executive, the police arrested the nine defendants again, with charges aggravated to conspiracy to commit public nuisance, inciting others to commit public nuisance, and incitement to incite others to commit public nuisance under the common law. District court judge Anthony Kwok Kai-on, who was then presiding over the case, raised concerns on 15 Jun 2017 that the charges are based on the same set of facts and might be overlapping. In fact, no one in Hong Kong has ever been accused of the crime of incitement to incite others to commit public nuisance, and the High Court of Australia has ruled that it is unconstitutional to prosecute a citizen for such an offence. In addition, the crime of conspiracy is based upon the public speeches or interviews made by the Occupy Trio, and involves innumerable pickets, volunteers and supporters of the Occupy Central Movement. Once the charge is established, it will create a chilling effect on the Hong Kong public, and the government can purge the entire democratic camp in Hong Kong based on this precedent if they want to.
Since these charges enable the government to abuse the power of prosecution and infringe on the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly, the nine defendants unanimously decided not to plead guilty. Benny Tai Yiu-ting and Chan Kin-man will testify in court and personally refute the government’s allegations and restore the authenticity of history. Righteousness resides in the public mind. The outbreak of the Umbrella Movement is triggered by the unconstitutional 831 decision and the use of tear gas by the CY Leung administration to violently suppress peaceful demonstrators.
We have no regrets about participating in the Umbrella Movement. A movement can be crushed but not defeated. The prison can confine our bodies, but it cannot imprison our souls!
Benny TAI, CHAN Kin Man, Rev CHU Yiu Ming, Tanya CHAN, SHIU Ka Chun, Tommy CHEUNG, Eason CHUNG, Raphael WONG and LEE Wing Tat