Veteran activist Koo Sze-yiu passes away at 80

Hong Kong veteran activist Koo Sze-yiu passed away on Wednesday afternoon at the age of 80.

According to the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands, Koo passed away around 1pm at Caritas Medical Centre, accompanied by his son among others. It is understood that the late activist was diagnosed with rectal cancer six years ago, with his condition deteriorating since last year.

Born in 1946, Koo was a member of the now-disbanded League of Social Democrats, having been convicted 12 times since 2000, with charges ranging from flag desecration to sedition.

Koo's most iconic act was carrying a cardboard coffin to protests, where he once planned to carry it to the Registration and Electoral Office ahead of the District Council Elections in 2023. He was arrested before leaving home and later convicted of sedition charges, sentenced to nine months in prison.

Koo once described imprisonment as “part of his life.” In a court plea, he declared himself willing to become a "martyr for democracy and human rights."

As a member of the Action Committee for Defending the Diaoyu Islands,  Koo was arrested after landing on the islands in 2012 with crew members. The move prompted Beijing to urgently demand their unconditional release.