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Joshua Wong
Prominent activist Joshua Wong asked for a lesser sentence in court on Friday after he earlier pleaded guilty in Hong Kong's biggest national security case. Wong was one of 47 activists charged in 2021 under a Beijing-imposed national security law with conspiracy to commit subversion for their involvement in an unofficial primary. The activists were accused of attempting to paralyse Hong Kong's government and topple the city's leader by aiming to win a legislative majority and using it to block city budgets indiscriminately. Wong and 44 others admitted their liability or were convicted by the court. They could be sentenced to life in prison, though those who pleaded guilty have a better chance of receiving shorter sentences. Their mass prosecution dealt a severe blow to the city's once-thriving pro-democracy movement. Wong waved at the public gallery after he walked into the courtroom. Former Democratic Party chair Wu Chi-wai, former pro-democracy lawmaker Jeremy Tam and activist Ta
Jailed democracy activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law were released on bail today pending an appeal against convictions for their role in the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests. The jail sentences handed down by the city's Court of Appeal in August came amid mounting fears that Beijing is tightening its grip on the semi-autonomous city and that rule of law is being compromised. Wong, 21, who became the face of the mass pro-democracy protests while still a teenager, was jailed for six months while Law, 24, was imprisoned for eight months. They were granted bail at the Court of Final Appeal until November 7, the first appearance in the appeal proceedings. A third activist, Alex Chow, who was jailed for seven months alongside Law and Wong, was not part of Tuesday's hearing. Wong's father Roger, who has heavily criticised his son's imprisonment, was at the court. Supporters outside punched the air at news of the pair's release. Lawmaker Eddie Chu said their release on bail