On a Monday in a West Kowloon courtroom, three former Demosisto members, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam, stepped forward to admit guilt over a June 2019 protest that had ringed Hong Kong's Police Headquarters with thousands demanding accountability for police force. They were taken into custody on the spot, and sentencing is set for the coming week. Their pleas arrive in a season when the city's pro-democracy movement finds itself under steady pressure, following a month that brought arrests of activists, journalists and lawmakers under a national security law that has reshaped what diss
Joshua Wong and Two Activists Plead Guilty in Hong Kong Protest Case Amid Wider Crackdown
Three prominent pro-democracy activists were jailed immediately after pleading guilty, with Chow saying she was frightened of her first prison term.
"Perhaps the authorities wish me to stay in prison one term after another."
Mark
Why does this plea matter beyond the three people involved?
Mimi
Because of who they are. Wong and Chow were central figures in the 2014 Umbrella Movement, and now both are in custody over a 2019 protest, after a month of other arrests.
Luke
Let's be careful, though. The reporting doesn't say why they pleaded guilty. Wong's Facebook post cites the prosecution's evidence and legal advice, and that's all we have.
Mark
What does Wong say about going back to prison?
Mimi
He says he's prepared. He suggests the authorities want him jailed term after term, but insists nothing, including an election ban, will stop activism.
Luke
That's his interpretation of official motives. The source doesn't confirm authorities intend that.
Mark
And Chow's situation is different from Wong's?
Mimi
Yes. Wong has served three stints before. Chow has not been in prison, and she wrote that she felt a bit scared. She also faces a separate August arrest for suspected incitement of secession under the national security law.
Luke
Which is only an arrest on suspicion, not a charge or a finding. And we don't know what sentences the court will hand down.
Mark
So what's the thing to watch?
Mimi
Next week's sentencing. Wong faces up to five years on the inciting and organizing charge.
Luke
Right, that's the maximum, not a prediction.
Der Puls
- Three of the movement's best-known young faces were remanded into custody within hours of pleading guilty.
- Wong has already served three terms behind bars and says he is ready to return, insisting that neither prison nor an election ban will silence him.
- Chow, facing her first prison sentence, admits she is frightened even as she says she has prepared herself.
- A month of arrests of lawmakers and activists has spread across the pro-democracy camp, and next week's sentencing will set how long the three remain locked away.
On a Monday in a West Kowloon courtroom, three former Demosisto members, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam, stepped forward to admit guilt over a June 2019 protest that had ringed Hong Kong's Police Headquarters with thousands demanding accountability for police force. They were taken into custody on the spot, and sentencing is set for the coming week. Their pleas arrive in a season when the city's pro-democracy movement finds itself under steady pressure, following a month that brought arrests of activists, journalists and lawmakers under a national security law that has reshaped what dissent can cost.
On Monday, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam stood in a West Kowloon courtroom and pleaded guilty to charges tied to a 2019 protest that surrounded Hong Kong Police Headquarters. The court ordered all three held in custody immediately. Sentencing will come next week.
Wong, now 24, was a teenage leader of the 2014 Umbrella Movement and has already served three separate stints in prison. He said before the hearing that he expected authorities might keep him behind bars term after term, and that he would keep working regardless. Chow, 23, was another key figure of that movement. She is also separately facing a national security charge, and she admitted on Facebook that she was still a bit scared of what might be her first prison term.
Their pleas close a month in which eight pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested and the camp's lawmakers resigned after Beijing removed four colleagues. The sentencing hearing now stands as the next marker of how far the pressure on the movement will reach.
On Monday, Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam stood in a courtroom in West Kowloon District and pleaded guilty to charges connected to a protest in June 2019. The court remanded all three into custody on the spot. Sentencing is set for next week.
The protest at the center of the case drew thousands of people, who surrounded Hong Kong Police Headquarters and demanded an investigation into the force used by officers. Wong, Chow and Lam were all members of Demosisto, a group that disbanded shortly after Beijing imposed a tough national security law on Hong Kong, a semiautonomous Chinese city, and stepped up its campaign against dissent.
The three did not say publicly why they chose to plead guilty rather than contest the charges. In a Facebook post on Sunday, Wong wrote that the decision followed a review of the prosecution's evidence and consultation with legal counsel.
Wong, 24, pleaded guilty to inciting and organizing an unauthorized assembly, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. He continues to maintain his innocence on a related charge of taking part in an unauthorized assembly. He has already served three separate stints behind bars in two protest-related cases, and said Monday he was ready to go back. Before his hearing he said: "Perhaps the authorities wish me to stay in prison one term after another." He added that neither prison bars, nor an election ban, nor any other arbitrary power would stop activists from continuing their work.
Wong first rose to prominence as a teenage protest leader in the 2014 Umbrella Movement. Days after his release from jail last year, he spoke outside Police Headquarters to a crowd of thousands, criticizing the authorities for describing a June 12 protest outside the legislature as a riot. He led the crowd in chanting, "No riots, only tyranny." Later that day, some demonstrators threw eggs at the headquarters and sprayed graffiti on its outer walls.
Chow, 23, was also a key figure in the Umbrella Movement. She pleaded guilty in July to participating in an unauthorized assembly and inciting others to take part, both stemming from this same case. In August she was separately arrested on suspicion of inciting secession under the national security law. Facing what could be her first prison term, she wrote on Facebook on Sunday: "If sentenced, this will be my first time in prison." She said she had prepared mentally, but added, "I am still a bit scared."
The pleas cap a month of arrests of activists, journalists and politicians in Hong Kong. In November, eight pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested over a chaotic meeting in the legislature in May. Hong Kong's entire pro-democracy camp later resigned from the legislature after Beijing authorized the removal of four of their colleagues.
The next marker is the sentencing hearing next week, when the court will decide how long Wong, Chow and Lam will remain in custody.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
If sentenced, this will be my first time in prison. While I say I have mentally prepared for this, I am still a bit scared.— Agnes Chow, Facebook post
Neither prison bars, nor election ban, nor any other arbitrary powers would stop us from activism.— Joshua Wong, before his court hearing
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