[ad_1]
Wong, who faces up to three years in prison according to his lawyer, was charged along with two other activists, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam, for what prosecutors said was his role in knowingly inciting, organizing and participating in the unauthorized assembly, which took place on June 21 of last year.
During a court hearing on Monday, Wong, 24, pleaded guilty to two counts related to inciting and organizing the protest. The prosecution did not offer evidence for the third count in connection with his participation in the protest. Chow pleaded guilty to the incitement and participation charges, while Lam also pleaded guilty to the incitement charges.
The magistrate took them into custody before sentencing on December 2.
Speaking before the trial, Wong said “it would not be surprising” if the court stopped him, but said that “neither the prison bars, nor the electoral ban, nor any other arbitrary power would stop us.”
“Perhaps the authorities want him to remain in prison one period after another,” Wong added. “What we are doing now is explaining the value of freedom to the world, through our compassion for those we love, so much so that we are willing to sacrifice the freedom of ours.”
Monday’s trial was just the latest in a series of prosecutions and arrests this year in connection with the 2019 protests. Wong himself faces other charges for a demonstration in October last year, and police have said investigations into the riots continue.
Earlier this month, several former pro-democracy lawmakers were arrested for organized protests in the city legislature, while a reporter for public broadcaster RTHK was also detained in connection with a program investigating the handling of the police by a mob attack at Yuen Long train station during the height of protests in July 2019.
The move came the same week that the US State Department sanctioned several senior Chinese officials in Hong Kong for “threatening the peace, security and autonomy” of the city, a move the local government described as “barbaric interference.” .
Other countries have also criticized China for the ongoing crackdown, with the European Council saying the move to disqualify opposition lawmakers was a “more severe blow” to freedom of opinion in the city and “significantly undermines autonomy. From Hong Kong”.
Some in Hong Kong have reacted to the worsening political system by migrating, or in the case of those facing judicial process, fleeing, abroad, but this has become increasingly difficult as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I wish to pay tribute to our fellow activists who are about to face trial and prison, or who are distraught that they cannot return home: we are not intrepid, but you are the bravest,” Wong said in a statement the Monday following His sentence.
Chow, one of the three arrested, also faces charges related to national security law. Before this week’s trial, she said that “if I am sentenced to prison this time, it will be the first time in my life that I am mentally prepared, but I am still a little scared.”
