Hong Kong’s Joshua Wong leads calls for global support for Thai pro-democracy protests

The group of 10 activists chanted slogans outside the Thai consulate building in Admiralty and flashed the Hunger Games salute in solidarity with the protesters

Thailand has launched a crackdown on demonstrators and the media, as calls grow for the monarchy to be reformed and for the prime minister to resign

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Joshua Wong and lawmaker Ted Hui demonstrate in solidarity with Thai protesters on October 19, 2020. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00pm, 19 Oct 2020Updated: 4:30pm, 23 Oct 2020

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung on Monday led several other pro-democracy figures to protest outside Thailand’s consulate in the city, calling for global support for the growing anti-government movement in the Southeast Asian kingdom.

In the youth-led Thai protests, which began in March at universities around the country, thousands of people are seeking the resignation of the prime minister, a more democratic constitution, and a reformed monarchy.

Wong and the group of about 10 people had planned to go up to the eighth floor of the Fairmont House in Admiralty, where the Thai consulate was located, to submit a petition. But they were prevented from entering the building and could only chant slogans outside the premises.

“Hong Kong people are standing with the people of Thailand now, just like how the Thais were standing with Hong Kong in 2019,” Wong said outside the building. “A greater crackdown will result in greater resistance.”

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Hong Kong activists including Joshua Wong rally in support of Thai pro-democracy protests

The poster boy of Hong Kong’s protest movement said that the city, being one of the three members of the #MilkTeaAlliance – an online pro-democracy group comprising people from Thailand and the self-ruled island of Taiwan – must speak up to show solidarity.

Protesters in Thailand on Sunday staged their fifth straight day of protests, with rallies taking place in the capital city of Bangkok and at least a dozen provinces, including Chiang Mai city in the north that has been a magnet for Hong Kong tourists.