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Joshua Wong and other Hong Kong activists charged over banned Jun 4 vigil

adminAugust 7, 20201 Mins read175 Views

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Two dozen people in Hong Kong, including pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, have been charged with participating in an illegal assembly at a vigil on June 4 commemorating the crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen square in 1989.

FILE PHOTO: Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong registers as a candidate for the upcoming Legislative Council election in Hong Kong, China July 20, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

07 Aug 2020 01:20AM

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HONG KONG: Two dozen people in Hong Kong, including pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, have been charged with participating in an illegal assembly at a vigil on Jun 4 commemorating the crackdown on protesters in and around Beijing's Tiananmen square in 1989.

It was the first time the vigil had been banned in semiautonomous Hong Kong, with police citing coronavirus restrictions on group gatherings in refusing permission for it to take place. Still, tens of thousands lit candles across the city in what was largely a peaceful event, bar a brief skirmish with riot police in one neighbourhood.

The anniversary struck an especially sensitive nerve in the former British colony this year, falling just as China prepared to introduce national security legislation later that month in response to last year's often violent pro-democracy demonstrations.

Pro-democracy activists see the new legislation as the latest attempt by Beijing to encroach on Hong Kong's freedoms.

READ: Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong says his disqualification from Hong Kong poll 'invalid and ridiculous'

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Police said in a statement on Thursday that 24 people, including 19 men and 5 women, aged 23-69, had been charged with holding and knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly. Such a charge existed before the new security law came into force on June 30.

Wong, and at least six other activists said on their Facebook pages that they were among thoseRead More – Source

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