Koo Sze-yiu

Koo Sze-yiu
古思堯
Koo in 2008 opposing Macau national security legislation
Born(1946-04-05)5 April 1946
Shiqi, Zhongshan, China
Died8 April 2026(2026-04-08) (aged 80)
Hong Kong
Known forMultiple convictions over anti-communism protests
Political party
Macau Federation of Trade Unions (until 1980s)
MovementBaodiao movement
Maoism (until 1989)
Koo Sze-yiu
Traditional Chinese古思堯
Simplified Chinese古思尧
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinGǔ Sīyáo
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingGu2 Si1 Yiu4

Koo Sze-yiu (Chinese: 古思堯; Jyutping: Gu2 Si1 Yiu4; 5 April[1] 1946[a]–8 April 2026), also known by his nickname "Long Beard" (長鬚),[4] was a Hong Kong anti-communist activist. He was most famous for carrying handmade coffins and burning flags at protests, and having been jailed 14 times over his protests.

Early life

Koo was born in 5 April 1946 in Shiqi, a subdistrict of Zhongshan, China. His father was executed by communist firing squad after accused of being a rightist.[5] Koo then moved to Macau, then a Portuguese colony, and studied in a left-wing school before working as an apprentice in a shipyard.[5] He claimed to have been a Maoist in his early years, joining the leftists to storm the Macau Government office and clashed with the police in the 12-3 incident in 1966.[6] He was a core member of the Macau Federation of Trade Unions. In the 1970s, he denounced the rigged selection of the union leader, and was forced to flee to Hong Kong after what he described as "betrayal" by colleagues.[7] Koo turned against the Chinese Communist Party after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on student activists demanding democracy in the People's Republic of China, and urged the ending of the one-party dictatorship.[5]

Activism

"Long Hair" and "Long Beard" – Leung Kwok-hung with Koo in 2010

After 1989, Koo became committed to Hong Kong's social movements, showing up in different protests, including 1 July marches, and continued after the handover of Hong Kong in 1997. Koo was always seen protesting with Leung Kwok-hung, an ex-MP known as "Long Hair" (長毛) who was also a left-wing activist,[8] and best known for carrying a handmade coffin to protests to show his disapproval of Beijing.[9]

As part of the Baodiao movement, he landed on the Senkaku Islands, or Diaoyutai Islands, on 15 August 2012.[10] He and others were arrested by Japan, and released two days later after Beijing's intervention.[11] At a televised press conference after arriving back in Hong Kong, Koo swore at a man behind him, telling him to "move over, diu nei lou mou ('fuck your mother!')" (企開啲啦，屌你老母),[12] which surprised audiences and became a local meme.[13][14]

Following the imposition of the national security law in 2020, Koo said he disagreed with violent clashes and the Hong Kong independence movement, but admitted only radical acts could be effective as both the PRC and Hong Kong Governments no longer tolerate peaceful protests. Koo also called on youngsters not to give up even if jailed for marches and assemblies, saying the authorities should take the blame.[15]

Convictions and jail

Koo (left) and Avery Ng with the famous mock coffin in 2013

Koo was jailed at least twelve times over different offences.[16]

In 1998, Koo, along with Tsang Kin-shing, Leung Kwok-hung, and Lau Shan-ching, was fined HK$3,000 for disorder in public spaces over burning mock coffins during the visit by Jiang Zemin, paramount leader of China.[17] In 2000, Koo was jailed 14 days over two protests during Legislative Council proceedings.[18]

In 2001, Koo was fined HK$3,000 for graffiti on a Hong Kong emblem during a protest.[5] In December 2008, Koo was accused of attacking guards of the Legislative Council during protests against the public offering of Link REIT, a real estate investment trust, and was jailed for seven days after choosing not to pay the HK$2,000 fine.[19]

Between 2012 and 2018, Koo was jailed for his multiple burnings and desecrating of the PRC and Hong Kong flags.[5] On 18 February 2013, Koo was jailed for nine months for desecrating the national and Hong Kong flags in protest at human rights abuses in the People's Republic of China and the alleged murder of Li Wangyang.[20] The jail term was reduced to 4.5 months on appeal.[21]

In April 2013, he was given a four-month suspended sentence, reduced to two months on appeal, over an attempt to burn the national flag at the Hong Kong Liaison Office.[21] In 2016, Koo was sentenced to 6 weeks’ imprisonment for having burnt the Hong Kong flag during the annual 1 July March in 2015;[21] he celebrated his fifth jail sentence near the court.[22][23]

On 27 March 2018, Koo was jailed for the sixth time, after desecrating the PRC and Hong Kong flags during a candlelight vigil in memory of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo in 2017, and during the Chinese National Day protest in 2017, and the New Year march in 2018. He was sent to jail for six months before chanting "all hail democracy", "all hail human rights", and "say no to the Chinese Community Party".[24]

On 25 June 2019, Koo was jailed for six weeks after desecrating the Hong Kong flag by writing "Shameful Hong Kong Government" in protest against disqualifying Lau Siu-lai's MP seat, amounting to his seventh jail sentence.[25]

On 28 January 2021, Koo received his tenth jail sentence of four months after desecrating the PRC flag by writing "white terror" and "fascist horror" and flying it upside down, to voice out support with 15 democrats charged with illegal assembly. He vowed in court to breach the National Security Law imposed upon Hong Kong by the PRC.[26][27]

On 14 April 2021, just days after finishing his earlier jail term,[28] Koo was jailed for five months over illegal assemblies with Joshua Wong on 5 October 2019, the day the Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation was enacted.[29]

Koo was again arrested on 4 February 2022, reportedly under the security law for suspected incitement of subversion, before his planned demonstration outside the Hong Kong Liaison Office to protest the PRC's Winter Olympics and call attention to political activists behind bars.[30] Koo was charged with attempting to commit a seditious act over a one-metre long coffin and a white flag with language including "down with the Chinese Communist Party" and "end one-party rule" found at his home, and was denied bail. He was jailed for 9 months after the judge found him guilty.[31]

On 18 December 2023, Koo was fined HK$6,000 for breaching fire safety regulations. The Hong Kong Fire Services Department had not informed him of their removal of his belongings from the open areas in an industrial building. Local media reported that he had been in hospital at the time of the removal.[32]

On 16 February 2024, Koo was sentenced to nine months in prison for "attempting or preparing to do an act with a seditious intention", after he was found guilty of planning a protest against the 2023 District Council elections.[33] He was released in September 2024.[5]

Personal life and death

Koo outside of a court in 2022

Koo's wife and daughter lived in mainland China, and visited Koo in 2012.[34]

Koo said in 2020 he was diagnosed with end-stage colorectal cancer.[15] After his final release from jail in 2024, Koo stayed in the hospital for a few months.[5] He was again sent to hospital in February 2026, and died there on 8 April 2026 after his kidney failure worsened.[5]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The birth year of Koo was legally and officially documented as 1946, and this version has been widely adopted by media, Hong Kong Judiciary, as well as his close friends and family on his personal obituary[2]; however, Koo once claimed that he was born in 1949 during an unofficial YouTube interview[3], while the veracity of such claim would be unverifiable.

References

  1. ↑ "【雷玉蓮清明祭孫中山】【稍後探戰友古思堯 賀80歲大壽】". 爆炸頭. 5 April 2026. Retrieved 11 April 2026. 雷玉蓮稱會帶同蘋果、麵包及一盒齋菜，準備前往探望今日迎來80歲大壽的古思堯。
  2. ↑ Multiple sources:
  3. ↑ Barry Ma (1 August 2013). 古思堯專訪〈現代豪俠傳〉 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 8 April 2026. Retrieved 8 April 2026 – via YouTube.
  4. ↑ Ng, Ting Hong; Yam, Alice (16 February 2024). "Hong Kong jails ailing veteran activist over fake coffin protest". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "古思堯病逝 | 抬棺材抗爭的「反共鬥士」 古思堯病逝 享年 80 歲". The Collective (in Chinese). 8 April 2026. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "社運老將古思堯第十一次坐牢 宣稱為民主定會觸犯國安法". Radio Free Asia. 13 April 2021. Archived from the original on 4 February 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  7. ↑ "參與澳門騷亂反遭批鬥 古思堯：堅決擁共變反共". Apple Daily. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  8. ↑ "《蘋果日報》「隔牆有耳」專欄：《棺材戰士憎人遲到》". Apple Daily. Archived from the original on 13 July 2007. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  9. ↑ "Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu jailed for coffin protest plan". South China Morning Post. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Japan sends back Chinese activists in bid to defuse island row". Reuters. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  11. ↑ "保釣勇士獲釋循海空兩路返港". Radio Free Asia. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  12. ↑ "社運人士古思堯病逝 享年80歲". am730 (in Chinese). 8 April 2026. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "吹脹80後 - 古思堯的保釣藝術". am730. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "【港版國安法】71歲古思堯患第四期直腸癌 無懼第8度坐監7.1上街反惡法". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 30 June 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  15. 1 2 "【港版國安法】71歲古思堯患第四期直腸癌 無懼第8度坐監7.1上街反惡法". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 30 June 2020. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
  16. ↑ 文維廣 (8 April 2026). "80歲社運人士古思堯逝世 曾罹患直腸癌四期多年". HK01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "香港保釣人士被指反華：曾焚燒國旗". China Review News Agency (in Chinese). 19 September 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  18. ↑ "古思堯是監獄常客". Ta Kung Pao (in Chinese). 5 February 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "古思堯襲擊罪成 寧坐監不交罰款". Sina (in Chinese). Ming Pao. 30 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 July 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Diaoyu Islands activist 'proudly' jailed for flag burning". South China Morning Post. 8 February 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  21. 1 2 3 Tong, Elson (29 December 2017). "Veteran pro-democracy activist Koo Sze-yiu arrested again for alleged flag desecration". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  22. ↑ "「我係故意燒區旗」 古思堯拒認罪". Oriental Daily News. 16 November 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  23. ↑ 鄧子盈 (12 May 2016). "燒區旗案 古思堯只認燒梁振英照片". HK01. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
  24. ↑ Standard, The (28 March 2018). "Activist jailed again for desecrating flags". The Standard. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  25. ↑ "古思堯侮辱區旗罪成第七度入獄 判監六星期". Stand News. 25 June 2019. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  26. ↑ Chau, Candice (28 January 2021). "Veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Koo Sze-yiu jailed for 4 months for desecrating Chinese national flag". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  27. ↑ "古思堯第十度侮辱國旗罪成 入獄4個月 庭上稱：若時機允許會故意違《國安法》". Hong Kong Inmedia. 28 January 2021.
  28. ↑ "古思堯第10次出獄 6日後又判刑 「中國一日無民主 一日抗爭到底」". Apple Daily. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  29. ↑ Chau, Candice (13 April 2021). "Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong receives 4 month jail term over 2019 demo". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  30. ↑ Lee, Peter (4 February 2022). "Hong Kong national security police arrest veteran democracy activist on morning of planned Winter Olympics demo". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  31. ↑ Ho, Kelly (12 July 2022). "Sedition law: 9 months jail for elderly Hong Kong activist who planned to protest 2022 Beijing Olympics". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
  32. ↑ Lee, James (18 December 2023). "Veteran Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu fined HK$6,000 for breaching fire safety regulations". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  33. ↑ Tse, Hans (16 February 2024). "Veteran Hong Kong activist Koo Sze-yiu jailed for 9 months over planned protest against District Council race". Hong Kong Free Press. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
  34. ↑ "古思堯﹕決心「撞散船都要搶灘」". Ming Pao. 19 August 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2022.
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