HONG KONG – Joshua Wong, the famous democracy activist of Hong Kong, on Monday applied to contest for a legislature seat in the city. This raises prospects of a tussle with authorities after he was barred from contesting in the previous election.
In the primaries held earlier this month, the young activist was one of more than a dozen firebrand politicians who outshone old guard democrats. The vote was seen by many as a protest against the new legislation imposed by Beijing.
The Sept. 6 election will see the democratic opposition trying to regain some political clout in the assembly which is stacked with those loyal to Beijing.
However activists fear that the authorities might disqualify some of the candidates.
According to Beijing, the primaries were illegal as they flouted the security law.
“With the possibility of facing a life sentence … I still hope to receive people’s mandate and let the world know that we will continue to fight until our last breath,” said Wong.
Wong, who was 17 when he became the face of the 2014 student-led Umbrella Movement protests, has not been a leading figure of the often-violent protests that shook the financial hub last year.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field