FADING FREEDOM

Hong Kong Jails Top Pro-Democracy Activist Joshua Wong for 13 Months

The protest leader was accused of inciting and organizing thousands of activists who besieged Hong Kong police headquarters last year.

Joshua Wong, the most recognizable face of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement over the past six years, has been jailed for 13 months. The protest leader was accused of inciting and organizing thousands of activists who besieged Hong Kong police headquarters during last year’s mass uprisings. Wong and two other activists—Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam—all pleaded guilty to the charges, which stemmed from the June 21 demonstration that blocked officers in their HQ for hours. Wong’s imprisonment is the latest step in China’s hardening crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement and freedoms. In a previous Facebook post, Wong warned Beijing: “Cages cannot lock up souls.”