Hong Kong Has Jailed Three Prominent Young Activists Over Anti-China Protests

Get the Full StoryJoshua Wong, center, Nathan Law, left and Alex Chow.

Anthony Wallace AFP Getty Images

Hong Kong has sentenced three young activists, including Joshua Wong, one of the leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy protests, to prison for taking part in anti-China demonstrations.The sentencing of Wong, 20, along with student leaders Nathan Law, 24, and Alex Chow, 26, also means they are banned from running for public office for the next five years. Wong received a six-month sentence while Law and Chow received eight and seven months respectively.In 2014, Wong led a group of student protesters to scale a fence surrounding Hong Kong's legislative headquarters and occupied the building courtyard, which triggered a 79-day pro-democracy movement that became known as the Umbrella Revolution. Wong and Chow were convicted of unlawful assembly while Law was convicted of inciting others to take part in an unlawful assembly.Following the announcement of the sentencing on Thursday, Wong took to Twitter with defiant messages.

All three activists had received community service sentences last year, but government prosecutors appealed for harsher punishment, arguing that community service orders were too lenient and sent the wrong message of young people. On Tuesday, 13 other protesters were jailed for eight to 13 months.

Share: