Joshua Wong: Hong Kong's Prodemocracy Leader Fends Off Jail Time
Joshua Wong, the political fire brand that sparked Hong Kong's Prodemocracy Revolution in 2014 along with Nathan Law and Alex Chow, was leniently punished for organizing a protest against China's intervention in Hong Kong's elections .
Joshua Wong and his fellow protestors were arrested because they rapped their knuckles at Beijing's door demanding for free elections and direct participation of citizens in choosing the leaders of Hong Kong instead of relying on the choices of an unelected committee which everyone deeply suspects of having strong Pro Beijing sentiments.
Community Service Instead Of Jail Time
Instead of receiving jail time Joshua Wong, 19 and Nathan Law, 23 were sentenced to community service: 80 hours for Wong and 120 hours for Law as a consequence of their decision to storm Civic Square and conduct their protest there. Civic Square is off limits to protesters. The oldest of the three, Alex Chow, 25 was given a suspended three-week sentence.
An Act of Civic Duty And Not An Act of Criminality
June Cheung, the presiding judge, defended her decision stating that the three defendants had no police records of past criminality and were instead acting out of their deep sense of concern for equity, suffrage and human rights in Hong Kong.
She added that the three men put their values at work and sought to effect social change which could hardly be called criminal. She concluded by stating that their case was a passionate expression of political values and sentencing them to jail time would show a complete misunderstanding of the motives and impact of their actions.
Wong had nothing but praise for Judge June stating that she exercised extraordinary prudence and insight to see the true nature and purpose of their prodemocracy movement which was to lift up Hong Kong and its people.
Umbrella Movement catches the World's Attention
Wong's protests came under international spotlight in September 2014 when he was arrested by police to quell his protests which quickly backfired when his arrest emboldened others to join his cause. The protest grew by the thousands everyday for two straight months with the police eventually resorting to tear gas to disperse the gigantic crowd.
To fend off the rain of tear gas attacks, the protestors brought umbrellas to shield themselves. The umbrella became a symbol that international media outlets used to describe their protests calling it the "Umbrella Movement."
The arrest of Wong and his fellow protestors sent alarm bells ringing in the international community led by rights group Amnesty International who stated that the arrest of Wong was a symbolical upfront to the rights of Hong Kong citizens for peaceful protests.
Some feared that Wong and his friends would face two year jail times. However, the lenient sentences they eventually got clearly gave everyone a great sigh of relief.
Beijing Unmoved
Despite the enormous international media attention that the umbrella movement garnered, Beijing did not give in to the protestors and refused to enact any kind of electoral reform that would ensure Hong Kong elections were free from the influence of China's Communist Party.
