Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was arrested on Thursday for participating in an illegal rally and violating the ban on face covering. This was announced through his account on Twitter.
Police confirm that a 23-year-old man has been arrested for those two suspicions, but does not name a name. A 74-year-old man has also been arrested for attending an illegal meeting. According to local media, it is also a pro-democratic activist.
23-year-old Wong, a prominent democracy advocate, was arrested when he reported to the police station. The meeting that he and the 74-year-old were part of is said to be an anti-government protest last October. This took place one day after the introduction of the mask ban.
The activist is also suspected of violating this ban. Wearing a face cover is prohibited in Hong Kong in several situations, for example during protests. The law on this was enacted because of the gas masks, helmets and other face coverings worn by protesters at the time.
The protesters wore this face cover to remain anonymous. They had been campaigning against the government for six months by then. The law came about after the demonstrations increasingly got out of hand. Participants regularly clashed with riot police, using force on both sides.
Demonstrations also led to security law
The protests also led to a controversial security law. This was introduced by China, which officially includes Hong Kong as an autonomous region. Since then, the protesters and other pro-democratic activists have been under a magnifying glass. Several prominent activists have been arrested since the law was introduced.
Wong is best known internationally as one of the faces of the so-called umbrella movement in 2014. Young people campaigned en masse for more democracy by occupying part of the financial heart. The young activist was sentenced to several months in prison because of his role.
– .
