Joshua Wong, the activist who on August was sentenced to six months in jail for unlawful assembly, says he expects to be back behind bars soon. Along with Nathan Law and Alex Chow, Wong stormed the Legislative Building in Hong Kong in 2014. That move sparked what would become the Umbrella Movement led by thousands of protesters, who took to the streets to demand freer elections of the city’s chief executive.
And while they did not achieve their goal, the three activists say the battle against Communist Party aggression is far from over. “I expect to pay the price, to be sent to prison,” Wong said before his sentencing. “However, I have no regrets at all. What we have done already proves that Hong Kong people will continue to show determination in the front-line against authoritarian rule.”
Wong’s appeal is set to be heard on November 7; although, he is not too optimistic about it. Nevertheless, he expects to continue pushing for the pro-Democracy movement.
“This may not be the first time we go to jail, there may be more young people going to jail in the future — but we will press on with our beliefs and fight together on the path to democracy,” the Hong Kong Free Press heard him saying shortly after his release.
But he says prison time also strengthened him. Wong called it “a chance for us to strengthen our determination to fight for democracy.” He and Law, who also was released, expect to go back to the movement soon.
But before the struggle begins again, Wong plans to take some time off.
A Twitter post by Joshua Wong Chi-Fung read, “I celebrated my first day on bail by doing what any normal Hong Konger would do: play video games #gundamversus.”
