Veteran Hong Kong activists on trial over rally AFP, HONG KONG Veteran Hong Kong activists yesterday flashed protest salutes and accused authorities of “political persecution” as they went on trial for organizing one of the biggest democracy protests to engulf the territory in 2019. The nine defendants include some of the territory’s most prominent pro-democracy campaigners, many of whom are non-violence advocates who have spent decades campaigning for universal suffrage. Among them are Hong Kong Democratic Party founder Martin Lee (李柱銘), an 82-year-old barrister who was once chosen by Beijing to help write the Hong Kong Basic Law, and Margaret Ng (吳靄儀), a 73-year-old barrister and former opposition lawmaker.