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Joshua Wong Chi-fung 黃之鋒

Founder and Secretary-General of pro-democracy party Demosistō

Date of Birth:

October 13, 1996

Gender:

Male

Tags:

NSL 47; Activist

Behind Bars Since

September 24, 2020

Bio

Wong first appeared in public in 2011 at the age of 14, taking a bold stance against the Moral and National Education (MNE) curriculum proposed by then-Chief Executive CY Leung.[1] With passion and determination, he founded Scholarism, rallying like-minded student individuals and ultimately pursuing the government to abandon the pro-CCP school program. [2]


On Sep. 22, 2014, Scholarism partnered with the Hong Kong Federation of Students to initiate a citywide class boycott in Hong Kong, advocating for democratic reforms. This led to the onset of the 79-day-long Umbrella Movement on Sep. 28, a series of sit-in street protests, marked by police deploying tear gas on Harcourt Road. [3] On Aug. 17, 2017, Wong and two other activists faced 6-8 month sentences for unlawful assembly, disqualifying them from public office for the subsequent five years. [4] Owing to his pivotal role in these events, Wong was named one of Time's 25 most influential teens of 2014. [5]


In April 2016, after the dissolution of Scholarism, Joshua Wong co-founded the political party, Demosistō. He intended to participate in the 2016 Legislative Council election, but was deemed ineligible due to being below the required age of 21. [6] Wong's commitment to peaceful political reform, anchored in the Sino-British Joint Declaration's tenets, led to his Nobel Peace Prize nomination in 2018. [7]


During the 2019 anti-extradition bill protests, Wong secured a nomination through the democratic primaries and announced his intention to run in the election on July 20, 2020, following his poll-topping endorsement by 31,398 voters. [8] Yet, the government invalidated his nomination. On Aug. 6, 2020, Wong was arrested and sentenced to 10 months for participating in an unauthorized assembly in June 2020 for commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. [9] On Jan. 7, 2021, while still incarcerated, Wong was arrested again over an alleged violation of the National Security Law. This occurred just a day after the police arrested numerous former lawmakers and opposition figures under the law's provision. The group was accused of organizing and participating in the primaries. [10]


Photo: Joshua Wong Facebook

Joshua Wong Chi-fung 黃之鋒

Charges

Conspiracy to commit subversion under the National Security Law for participating in the democratic primaries:

  • Jan. 7, 2021: Arrested from jail

  • Feb. 28, 2021: Officially charged along with 45 activists from the 55 arrested in January

  • Sep. 5, 2022: Pled not guilty; Trial concluded, Awaiting sentencing


Contempt of court for disclosing personal details of a police officer who shot live rounds against a protester:

  • Apr. 17, 2023: Convicted, Sentenced to 3 months in prison


Taking part in an unauthorized assembly to mark the 2020 anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre:

  • May 6, 2021: Convicted, sentenced to 8 months in prison


Organizing and inciting unlawful assembly; Taking part in an unlawful assembly in the anti-extradition bill protest on June 21 2019:

  • Nov. 23, 2020: Pleaded guilty

  • Dec. 2, 2020: Found guilty of organizing and inciting unlawful assembly, but not guilty of taking part in it. Sentenced to 1 year and 1 month in prison


Taking part in an unlawful assembly, violating the anti-mask law of Hong Kong in the 2019 protest against a government ban on face masks:

  • Sep. 24, 2020: Arrested when he reported to a police station regarding another case against him

  • Sep. 30, 2020: Bailed on the condition of HK$1,000, a travel ban was imposed on him at the request of the prosecutors

  • Apr. 13, 2021: Convicted, sentenced to 4 months in jail


Taking part in an unlawful assembly, inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly in September 2014:

  • Jul. 21, 2016:  Found guilty

  • Aug. 15, 2016: Ordered to perform 80 hours of community service

  • Sep. 8, 2016: The Department of Justice of Hong Kong requested a review of the sentences

  • Aug.17, 2017, The Court of Appeal upheld the convictions and enhanced sentences by imposing six-month prison terms


Contempt of court for obstructing the execution of the court's order for clearance of part of the Occupy Central protest zone in Mong Kok:

  • Nov. 27, 2014: Arrested, bailed on condition he did not return to a large part of Mong Kok

  • Oct. 13, 2017: Convicted, sentenced to 3 months' imprisonment

  • May. 16, 2019: The appeal resulted in a reduced sentence to 2 months

Mailing Address

九龍中央郵政局郵政信箱73962號
Po Box 73962, Kowloon Central Post Office, 405 Nathan Road, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong

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