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Malaysia refuses entry to Hong Kong student leader

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IANS Beijing

The Malaysian government on Tuesday deported Joshua Wong, a student who led pro-democracy protests against the Chinese government in Hong Kong in 2014, Efe news agency reported.

The Malaysian government refused him permission to enter the country on Tuesday, and instead sent him back to Hong Kong on the return flight, the 18-year-old student leader said on his Twitter account.

Wong had hoped to participate in forums across Malaysia, on the 2014 protests and the Tiananmen massacre in 1989.

Wong explained on Twitter that a Malaysian official informed him an order to deny him entry came from the government.

Wong's scheduled activities in Malaysia were organised by eight local activist groups, including an NGO called 'Remembering the Tiananmen Massacre'.

 

Forums were planned in the cities of Penang, Ipoh, Johor and Petaling Jaya.

Wong was a highly visible figure in the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, which began around the end of September and ended in December after a judicial order to vacate the streets occupied by protesters.

During the protests, hundreds of thousands of people occupied strategic points in the city, demanding free elections and defying the Chinese government.

The Chinese government, however, did not concede their demands.

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First Published: May 26 2015 | 2:58 PM IST

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