Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong and two other prominent activists have been arrested in a police crackdown following three months of protests in the Chinese-controlled territory.
Police officials say that Demosisto party leaders Wong and Agnes Chow were detained earlier today in connection with a 21 June rally where protestors blockaded police headquarters for 15 hours, reports the BBC.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The trio are among around 900 people arrested since the demonstrations began in June, sparked by a bill that would allow Hong Kong residents to be extradited to mainland China. Although the bill has now been suspended, the protests have evolved into pro-democracy marches that have attracted crowds of up to two million people.
Confirming Wong’s arrest, the Demosisto party said in a statement on Facebook that he had been “arrested at roughly 7:30 this morning en route to the South Horizons MTR station, when he was suddenly pushed into a private car on the street”.
He was then taken to police headquarters in Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district, where Chow is also being held after being arrested at her home.
Man-kei Tam, director of Amnesty International Hong Kong, said the arrests were “ludicrous” and “an outrageous assault on the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly”, reports regional newspaper The Standard.
“This past week, we have seen scare tactics straight out of Beijing’s playbook: pro-democracy protest organisers attacked by thugs, prominent activists arrested after being snatched from their homes and streets, and a major rally planned for Saturday banned,” he said.
Who is Joshua Wong?
Joshua Wong is the secretary general of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Demosisto party.
His activist career started at the age of 14, when he and classmate Ivan Lam Long-yin established a student protest group, Scholarism, to protest against a new “patriotic” school curriculum in 2011.
In 2014, Wong was dubbed “the face of protest” after playing a prominent role in demonstrations against proposed reforms to the Hong Kong electoral system that would have allowed pre-screening of political candidates by China’s ruling Communist Party. The uprising was dubbed the “Umbrella Movement”, because activists used umbrellas to shield themselves from police pepper spray.
Wong was convicted of civil disobedience and sentenced to two months in prison. He was released from prison on 17 June, reports CNBC.
Neither he nor Chow have played a leading role in the current protests, but Wong has attended some of the marches and has spoken publicly in support of the demonstrators’ demands.
What will happen now?
The Demosisto party says that Wong has been charged with three offences. It is unclear what these charges are, reports Hong Kong Free Press.
Issac Cheng, vice-chair of Demosisto, has accused the Hong Kong government of ordering the arrests in order “to spread white terror among the Hong Kong protesters and Hongkongers”.
“They are accusing Demosisto members and different high-profile activists in the movement to try to create a fictional atmosphere that there are leaders leading the campaign… But I have to emphasise that, for the movement, it is recognised as leaderless and organisation-less, so there are no single leaders that can be leading the whole movement,” he insisted.
Joseph Cheng, a retired political scientist, told The Guardian: “This is something the government can do – massive arrests to dry up and sap the strength of the protest movement.”
Meanwhile, a rally scheduled on Saturday by protest-movement the Civil Human Rights Front has been cancelled after authorities refused to grant permission for the demonstration to take place.
-
Political cartoons for October 26Cartoons Sunday’s editorial cartoons include Young Republicans group chat, Louvre robbery, and more
-
Why Britain is struggling to stop the ransomware cyberattacksThe Explainer New business models have greatly lowered barriers to entry for criminal hackers
-
Greene’s rebellion: a Maga hardliner turns against TrumpIn the Spotlight The Georgia congresswoman’s independent streak has ‘not gone unnoticed’ by the president
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
Russia is ‘helping China’ prepare for an invasion of TaiwanIn the Spotlight Russia is reportedly allowing China access to military training
-
Interpol arrests hundreds in Africa-wide sextortion crackdownIN THE SPOTLIGHT A series of stings disrupts major cybercrime operations as law enforcement estimates millions in losses from schemes designed to prey on lonely users
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
