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Hong Kong protests
Hong Kong

Prominent activists and lawmakers arrested in Hong Kong police crackdown, fuelling tensions as protesters vow to defy march ban over the weekend

  • Among those arrested are activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Andy Chan; lawmakers Cheng Chung-tai, Au Nok-hin and Jeremy Tam also held
  • Pan-democrats slam arrests, saying timing is meant to suppress protest movement but will backfire and fuel greater anger

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Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow were detained on a number of charges. Photo: Edmond So
Jeffie Lam,Michelle WongandBrian Wong

Tensions mounted in Hong Kong on Friday as police arrested prominent pro-democracy activists and at least three lawmakers in a crackdown ahead of a banned mass march as the city braced for the 13th straight weekend of anti-government protests.

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Among those arrested were young activists Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Agnes Chow Ting, both from the political party Demosisto, Andy Chan Ho-tin, convenor of the now-outlawed Hong Kong National Party, and three pro-democracy lawmakers, Cheng Chung-tai, Au Nok-hin and Jeremy Tam Man-ho.

They were detained on a slew of charges for their involvement in various protests sparked by the now-shelved extradition bill since June.
The arrests came as an appeal board upheld the police’s objection to a march and rally proposed by the Civil Human Rights Front – organiser of three record-breaking marches over the past two months – for Saturday, forcing it to call off the planned action.

While police insisted the high-profile arrests had nothing to do with the Saturday protest – which was to mark the fifth anniversary of the announcement of a restrictive electoral reform package by Beijing that was eventually rejected by Hong Kong – Wong and Chow said their actions amounted to scare tactics to silence critics and inflict “white terror” on society.

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Both were charged and granted bail. Speaking outside Eastern Court after he was freed, Wong vowed to fight on as he described the prosecutions as a bid to cow both the violent and peaceful demonstrators ahead of Saturday’s banned march.

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