Hong Kong pro-democracy activists to plead guilty to protest charges

Hong Kong activists, from right, Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam and Agnes Chow. Photo / AP

Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has said that he plans to plead guilty to charges related to a demonstration outside police headquarters during anti-government protests last year.

Ahead of a court hearing today, Wong said that he and fellow activist Ivan Lam would both plead guilty to organising, taking part in and inciting protesters to join an unauthorised protest outside police headquarters in Wan Chai last June.

Both Wong and Lam were members of the now-disbanded Demosisto political party.

"I am persuaded that neither prison bars, nor election ban, nor any other arbitrary powers would stop us from activism," Wong said. "What we are doing now is to explain the value of freedom to the world, through our compassion to whom we love, so much that we are willing to sacrifice the freedom of our own. I'm prepared for the thin chance of walking free."

Those found guilty of taking part in an unlawful assembly could face as long as five years in prison depending on the severity of the offense.

Wong rose to prominence as a student leader during the 2014 Umbrella Movement pro-democracy protests and is among a growing number of activists being charged for various relatively minor offences since Beijing in June imposed a sweeping national security law on the territory that has severely restricted political expression.

"We will continue to fight for freedom, and now is not the right time to us to kowtow to Beijing and to surrender."

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong @joshuawongcf has pled guilty to all charges related to a siege of police headquarters in June 2019. More https://t.co/ckEhr8oso5 pic.twitter.com/s1TLynyHpx

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) November 23, 2020

Pro-democracy supporters have said the legal charges are part of a campaign to harass and intimidate them. Lam, who also spoke ahead of the court hearing, said he too was prepared to be jailed.

Wong wrote on social media on Sunday that he and Lam had decided to plead guilty after consulting with their lawyers. The two previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

10/ Cages may lock up our bodies, but never our unwavering souls. One day our indomitable will return and make us assemble again. pic.twitter.com/iBIXzsDcUw

— Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 😷 (@joshuawongcf) November 22, 2020

Another activist, Agnes Chow, has already pleaded guilty to charges of inciting others and taking part in the protest.

"If I am sentenced to prison this time, it will be the first time in my life that I have been in jail," Chow wrote on her Facebook page on Sunday.

"Although I am mentally prepared, I still feel a little bit scared. However, compared to many friends, I have suffered very little. When I think of this, I will try my best to face it bravely," she wrote.