Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow, and Ivan Lam Sent to Prison

The Washington Post reports that a court in Hong Kong has sentenced “democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam to between seven and 13 1/2 months in prison for organizing and taking part in an unauthorized protest.”

According to the Post, “In delivering the sentence, the magistrate, Lily Wong, said community service or a noncustodial penalty would be inappropriate for Lam and Joshua Wong, citing their criminal records — all relating to their political activism. The June 21, 2019, protest at police headquarters was ‘well planned,’ the judge said, as she cited messages sent by Joshua Wong through the messaging app Telegram urging people to gather.”

The New York Times also reported on the sentences for Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, stating, “To critics of the government, Mr. Wong’s prison sentence is an attempt to muzzle one of the most globally recognized figures of the city’s resistance to Beijing’s encroachment. Mr. Wong, 24, rose to prominence nearly a decade ago as a skinny, bespectacled teenager who rallied students to oppose what he saw as the Chinese Communist Party’s indoctrination in schools. His persistent activism has made him a key target in Beijing’s drive to quash dissent in the territory.”