Several Hong Kong protest leaders arrested in apparent crackdown escalation

Hong Kong protest leaders Nathan Law, Joshua Wong, and Agnes Chow — (Image credit: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images)

A number of Hong Kong protest leaders were arrested Friday morning, according to pro-democracy group Demosistō, including its 22-year-old leader, Joshua Wong. Wong was seized at about 7:30 Friday morning at a subway stop then "suddenly pushed into a private car on the street" and taken to Hong Kong police headquarters, Demosistō said. Another prominent Demosistō activist, Agnes Chow, was arrested at her house. A third protest leader, Andy Chan, was arrested as he tried to board a plane at Hong Kong International Airport, on charges of rioting and assaulting a police officer. Chan is founder of the banned pro-independence Hong Kong National Party.

The arrests, part of a widening crackdown on protests that have roiled Hong Kong for two months, precede a major protest march on Saturday to mark the five-year anniversary of Beijing ruling out universal suffrage, sparking the 2014 Umbrella Movement; authorities have refused to issue a permit for Saturday's march. Wong and Chow have both been arrested since the umbrella protests, which they helped lead — Wong was released from jail most recently in June — and the current protest moment is deliberately leaderless, relying on social media to organize protests.

As the protests persist and have started to develop a violent edge, authorities in Hong Kong have stepped up arrests and use of force and Beijing had issued threats and displayed military force. So far, more than 800 people have been arrested in connection with the protests, some of them facing up to 10 years in jail on riot charges. Wong and Chow are supposed to travel to Washington in September to meet with lawmakers and testify in support of the bipartisan Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.