Hong Kong’s activist Joshua Wong, who is one of the co-founders and the head of the pro-democracy Demosisto party, was arrested on Friday, the party said ahead of the upcoming large-scale anti-government protests in China’s semi-autonomous area.
“Our secretary-general @joshuawongcf was just arrested this morning at roughly 7:30 [23:30 GMT on Thursday], when he was walking to the South Horizons MTR station. He was forcefully pushed into a private minivan on the street in broad daylight. Our lawyers following the case now,” Demosisto wrote on Twitter.
Meanwhile, South China Morning Post reported on Friday that two other activists — Agnes Chow and Andy Chan — had been arrested.
Chow is reportedly suspected of being behind an unlawful assembly, just like Wong, while Chan was captured on suspicions of attacking a security officer.
On Saturday, Hong Kong residents are planning to hold a large-scale protest timed to the fifth anniversary of the refusal of China’s authorities to introduce universal suffrage in the special administrative region. Though the rally has been banned by the police, this weekend is expected to be the 13th consecutive weekend of anti-government rallies in Hong Kong, sparked by proposed changes to extradition law.
