Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒) was yesterday jailed for the second time for his role in mass pro-democracy protests as concern grows that prison terms for young campaigners are shutting down debate in the semi-autonomous territory as Beijing increases control.
Wong, 21, who became the face of the 2014 “Umbrella movement,” was handed a three-month sentence on a contempt charge for obstructing clearance of a major protest encampment, to which he had pleaded guilty.
He was already on bail pending an appeal over a six-month sentence for another protest-related offense.
Photo: EPA
Judge Andrew Chan (陳慶偉) described Wong’s involvement in obstructing the clearance in 2014 as “deep and extensive” in his written judgement.
“He played a leading role on that day,” he added. “The only appropriate punishment for Mr Wong is immediate imprisonment.”
Fellow activist Raphael Wong (黃浩銘) was jailed for four months and 15 days over the same incident.
Defense lawyers pushed for bail in an afternoon session, but Chan said it was outside the court’s jurisdiction and any application should go to a higher court.
As the pair were led away by security guards, they shouted “Go, go, go” in Cantonese to their supporters in the courtroom.
Fourteen other defendants, including leading activist Lester Shum (岑敖暉), were given suspended sentences on contempt charges.
Campaigners fear that the raft of cases against activists and the jail terms handed down to democracy leaders are discouraging young people from expressing their views and exercising their right to peaceful protest.
Ahead of the hearing, Joshua Wong said he had “no regrets” about his involvement in the movement.
“They can lock up our bodies, but they can’t lock up our minds,” he told reporters.
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the High Court, chanting: “Civil disobedience, no fear,” and “I’m a Hong Konger, I want universal suffrage.”
They were countered by a small group of pro-Beijing protesters waving the national flag of China and supporting the Hong Kong Department of Justice.
They displayed a banner calling the activists “mobsters” and saying they must “pay the price” in jail.
The “Umbrella movement” was an unprecedented rebuke to Beijing as tens of thousands of protesters brought parts of the territory to a standstill, demanding fully free leadership elections to replace a system in which Hong Kong’s chief executive is selected by a pro-Beijing committee.
They failed to win concessions and since then leading activists have been charged over their involvement.
Beijing has been further incensed by the emergence of some activists calling for independence for Hong Kong since the failure of the “Umbrella movement” to win reform.
Hong Kong has been governed under a “one country, two systems” deal since 1997, when Britain handed the territory back to China.
The agreement allows Hong Kongers rights unseen in China, including freedom of speech and a partially directly elected parliament, as well as an independent judiciary, but there are concerns those liberties are being eroded.
Wong was jailed for six months in August last year on unlawful assembly charges for involvement in the storming of a fenced-off government forecourt known as Civic Square in September 2014, which sparked the wider “Umbrella movement” rallies.
He served more than two months behind bars before being granted bail pending an appeal.
Wong and fellow campaigners Nathan Law (羅冠聰) and Alex Chow (周永康) were originally given non-custodial sentences by a lower court over that incident, but after the government’s intervention they were jailed by the Court of Appeal.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a