An elderly protester who called the Beijing Games the “Coffin Winter Olympics” was arrested in Hong Kong on Friday on charges of inciting subversion.
Hong Kong police raided the residence of Koo Sze-yiu, a 75-year-old with stage 4 cancer, hours before he planned to protest in front of its liaison office, with the media in attendance, to present Chinese officials with a petition describing human rights abuses, according to media reports.
He sent out an invitation that said, “Don’t forget that human rights are being oppressed in Hong Kong,” and criticized “unjust” cases of imprisonment in Hong Kong. The statement also highlighted what he dubbed the Coffin Winter Olympics.
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“It is very sad. He will probably end up in jail forever under the draconian law,” exiled pro-democracy politician Ted Hui told Voice of America. “Even to an old man with cancer, the Chinese Communist Party Hong Kong regime has no mercy. Koo is a well-known and respected figure who has taught Hong Kongers what courage was like back in the early days.”
Three additional people were detained, but it is unknown what charges they face, if any.
Koo has been arrested 11 times for activism that includes desecrating the Chinese flag and organizing a vigil to honor the victims of the 1989 Chinese massacre at Tiananmen Square. He often carries a coffin representing the death of Hong Kong.
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China imposed a national law in June 2020 under which at least 162 people have been arrested and 100 people have been prosecuted, Hong Kong police commissioner Raymond Siu said last month.
