Despite having a conviction for murder overturned, former HK resident has yet to be reunited with family and friends
For former Hong Kong resident David Wong Kin-jin, who has spent the past 17 years behind bars in the United States, Christmas was bitter-sweet.
Although his wrongful conviction for a 1986 jailhouse stabbing has been overturned, and charges dropped, Wong was still unable to spend the holidays in freedom with his family and friends.
After years of appealing for a retrial, Wong's case had become a cause celebre for Asian-American activists, who saw him as a victim of courtroom injustice and racial profiling.
On December 21, a judge dismissed a second degree murder charge on the grounds that a retrial 'would likely result in an acquittal' after key witnesses recanted their testimonies.
On the verge of freedom, the Fujian native and illegal immigrant wrote from Clinton county jail in Plattsburgh, upstate New York, about his feelings of loss and hope, and his potential deportation to the mainland or Hong Kong.