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Joshua Wong, Pro-Democracy Leader in Hong Kong, Is Detained in Bangkok Joshua Wong, Pro-Democracy Leader in Hong Kong, Is Detained in Bangkok
(about 1 hour later)
BEIJING — Joshua Wong, the leader of a student movement during the pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong, was detained at the international airport in Bangkok early Wednesday, according to a statement from his political party. BEIJING — Joshua Wong, who was a prominent leader of the 2014 pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong, was detained at the international airport in Bangkok early Wednesday, according to a statement from his political party.
The party, Demosisto, which Mr. Wong had recently helped to establish, said Mr. Wong had arrived in Thailand at 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday on an Emirates flight. He had been invited to speak at Chulalongkorn University. The party, Demosisto, which the 19-year-old activist had recently helped to establish, said that Mr. Wong had arrived in Thailand at 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday on an Emirates flight. He had been invited to speak at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
The party said it had been unable to get any word of Mr. Wong until 4:18 a.m. Hong Kong time, when a Thai student activist who was expecting to meet with him notified the party that Mr. Wong had been detained at the international airport. The party said the student told them that the authorities had received a letter from the Chinese government regarding Mr. Wong’s trip. He added that he had been unable to get in touch directly with Mr. Wong. The party said that it had been unable to get any word about Mr. Wong’s whereabouts until several hours later, when a Thai student who was expecting to meet with him said that Mr. Wong had been detained at the airport.
The party said it “strongly condemns the Thai government for unreasonably limiting Wong’s freedom and right to entry, and requests the immediate release of Wong.” The student, Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, said in an interview that the Thai authorities had told him that they had received a letter from the Chinese government asking that Mr. Wong not be allowed into the country.
Mr. Wong drew international attention as one of the leaders of the Umbrella Revolution protests in 2014, which called for more democratic elections in Hong Kong, a largely autonomous former British colony that reverted to Chinese control in 1997. “This is blocking our education,” Mr. Netiwit said. “He was supposed to be here to speak about the future of politics and his experience in the movement. But it turns out this matter is not open for discussion. How will the new generation live in the future if we still act like this?”
After the 2014 protests, which were denounced as “unlawful” by the Chinese authorities, Malaysia barred Mr. Wong from entry. Malaysia’s police inspector general said Mr. Wong was denied entry in May 2015 because the country did not want Mr. Wong to “jeopardize our ties with China.” Mr. Wong’s party said it “strongly condemns the Thai government for unreasonably limiting Wong’s freedom and right to entry, and requests the immediate release of Wong.”
Mr. Wong has spoken at dozens of schools around the world, including universities in Tokyo, Taiwan and the United States. Immigration officials in Thailand and Hong Kong said they were looking into the matter.
Mr. Wong drew international attention as one of the leaders of the so-called Umbrella Revolution protests in 2014, which called for more democratic elections in Hong Kong, a former British colony that reverted to Chinese control in 1997 but has its own legal system and civil liberties not available in mainland China. During the protests, thousands of students and other demonstrators blocked major thoroughfares in Hong Kong for months.
Mr. Wong had been invited to speak Thursday at Chulalongkorn University to mark the 40th anniversary of a bloody crackdown on student demonstrators in Bangkok.
It was not the first time that he had been barred from an Asian country where fellow student activists had invited him to speak. Malaysia denied him entry in May of last year because the country did not want Mr. Wong to “jeopardize our ties with China,” the police inspector general said at the time. He had been invited to speak at forums hosted by Malaysian youth activist groups.
Mr. Wong has spoken at dozens of schools around the world, including universities in Japan, Taiwan and the United States.
Though the Hong Kong protests did not win any immediate political concessions from Beijing, they gave rise to a new generation of political activists who went on to win seats in local elections. Nathan Law, another leader of the protests and a founder of the Demosisto party, will become the youngest ever legislator in Hong Kong when he is inaugurated next week.Though the Hong Kong protests did not win any immediate political concessions from Beijing, they gave rise to a new generation of political activists who went on to win seats in local elections. Nathan Law, another leader of the protests and a founder of the Demosisto party, will become the youngest ever legislator in Hong Kong when he is inaugurated next week.
Agnes Chow, deputy secretary general of Demosisto, said, “The Chinese government doesn’t want Hong Kong’s pro-democracy voices to be heard outside.”Agnes Chow, deputy secretary general of Demosisto, said, “The Chinese government doesn’t want Hong Kong’s pro-democracy voices to be heard outside.”
“But the harder it tries to suppress us,” Ms. Chow added, “the louder we’d be heard.”“But the harder it tries to suppress us,” Ms. Chow added, “the louder we’d be heard.”
The Thai government has a recent record of complying with security requests from the Chinese government. It has deported scores of Uighur refugees back to China in response to demands by the Chinese authorities, and it allowed Chinese security officers to track down a liberal Hong Kong bookseller at a Thai resort. Thailand’s military junta, which seized power from an elected government in 2014, has a record of complying with security requests from the Chinese government. It has deported scores of Uighur refugees back to China in response to demands by the Chinese authorities, and it allowed men representing Beijing’s interests to track down a liberal Hong Kong bookseller at a Thai resort.
Peter Dahlin, the Swedish legal rights advocate who was detained and expelled from China last winter, said Chinese officers were also able to conduct surveillance on Chinese rights lawyers doing training on a Thai island. Mr. Dahlin now lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Peter Dahlin, a Swedish legal rights advocate who was detained and expelled from China in January, said Chinese security officers or their representatives had recently been conducting surveillance on Chinese rights lawyers undergoing training on a Thai island. Mr. Dahlin now lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Sophie Richardson, director of China research for Human Rights Watch, said: “Thailand’s arrest of Joshua Wong, a well-known pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, sadly suggests that Bangkok is willing to do Beijing’s bidding. Wong should be freed immediately and allowed to travel and exercise his right to free expression.”Sophie Richardson, director of China research for Human Rights Watch, said: “Thailand’s arrest of Joshua Wong, a well-known pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, sadly suggests that Bangkok is willing to do Beijing’s bidding. Wong should be freed immediately and allowed to travel and exercise his right to free expression.”