Teenager Found Guilty over Hong Kong Democracy Protests

The Hong Kong authorities’ prosecution of three pro-democracy student leaders sends a chilling warning for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the city, Amnesty International said today, after Joshua Wong, Alex Chow and Nathan Law were found guilty for their roles in events that triggered 2014’s Umbrella Movement.

Joshua Wong and Alex Chow were found guilty Thursday of taking part in an unlawful assembly, while Nathan Law was found guilty of inciting others to take part.

Wong was found not guilty of incitement.

Surrounded by trademark cyan blue banners of their center-left party Demosisto – which seeks self-determination for Hong Kong – and joined by dozens of supporters outside the Eastern Magistrates Court, the three delivered speeches prior to the verdict and said they would “Fight until the people enjoy universal suffrage”.

The three activists remained defiant after their bail was extended pending sentencing on August 15.

The court heard that Wong encouraged others to enter the forecourt before he climbed over the forecourt’s newly erected three-metre security fence, without applying for police permission or obtaining the Administrative Wing’s consent to do so. They each could face up to two years in prison for leading the protests, which marked the former British colony’s most tumultuous period in decades.

“Apart from respecting judicial independence and the rule of law, I still disagree with the final result from the court, because I think that everyone should ensure and gain the right to organize and participate in any kind of assembly”, Wong told reporters outside the court.

In 2014, Wong was one of the prominent leaders of the “Umbrella Movement” which brought parts of the city to a standstill for more than two months.

The protests became known as the Umbrella Movement because of the yellow umbrellas the demonstrators carried.

Hong Kong was returned to China by Britain in 1997 with its freedoms guaranteed for 50 years, but there are fears those liberties are disappearing.

Early last month, Wong was acquitted by a magistrate court of obstructing police during the build-up to the 2014 protests.

There is concern that Beijing is increasingly interfering in education and media, as well as politics.