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The
plea of guilty to joining the citywide unlawful protest on Aug.
31 that year comes a week after Lai and six more activists were
found guilty in a separate court case over unauthorised
assembly.
The other activists who pleaded guilty were Lee Cheuk-yan and
Yeung Sum.
"I plead guilty, but I've done no wrong in affirming the rights
of people to peaceful procession and I believe history will
absolve me," Lee said.
Sentences in both cases are to be handed down later. The maximum
possible punishment is five years in prison.
The 2019 pro-democracy protests were spurred by Beijing's
tightening squeeze on wide-ranging freedoms promised to Hong
Kong upon its return to Chinese rule in 1997, and plunged the
semi-autonomous city into its biggest crisis since the handover.
Beijing has since consolidated its authoritarian grip on Hong
Kong by imposing a sweeping national security law, punishing
anything it deems as secession, subversion, terrorism or
collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Supporters of the law say it has restored stability after the
prolonged unrest of 2019.
Lai, founder of the Apple Daily tabloid, has been a frequent
visitor to Washington, meeting officials such as former
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to rally support for Hong Kong
democracy, prompting Beijing to label him a "traitor".
Other cases facing the tycoon, who has been in jail for months
after being denied bail in another case, include charges of
colluding with foreign forces under the new security law.
His repeated arrests have drawn criticism from Western
governments and international rights groups.
The Aug. 31, 2019 clashes were some of Hong Kong's worst, with
police firing tear gas and water cannons at pro-democracy
protesters who threw petrol bombs.
(Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom; Writing by Marius Zaharia;
Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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