Pro-democracy activists Agnes Chow, Ivan Lam and Joshua Wong
Hong Kong … News Time
Three prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists have been detained after pleading guilty to protesting outside police headquarters. The protesters include Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow, active members of the banned political party Demosisto. All the young men in their 20s have accepted the charges against them at the behest of their lawyers. All three could face up to five years in prison. The next hearing in the case is set for December 2. Going to court on Monday, Joshua Wong said the hardships of incarceration, the ban on elections or the use of any power against them could not stop them from mobilizing for democracy. “We want to make the world aware of the value of freedom and we are doing so out of love for our loved ones, even sacrificing our freedom,” he said. I am even prepared for the situation where after that my chances of living as a free person will be very limited. These pro-democracy activists say the court charges against protesters in Hong Kong are political in nature and part of a campaign to harass them. In July this year, Joshua Wong and 11 other Democratic candidates were barred from running in Hong Kong’s September parliamentary elections. The move comes as it became clear in the early elections that anti-China candidates would win. China passed a national security law in June this year, which severely restricted political activity and freedom of expression. Protests against the new law began. Authorities later charged Wang Joshua Wong and his associates with protesting in Hong Kong. Wang had been actively involved in the democracy movement since 2014, when he was a university student.
