Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong pleads for Germany’s support

Amid escalating violence in Hong Kong, prominent activist Joshua Wong asked the German government to come to the aid of the semi-autonomous city, according to a news report published Friday.

“I ask the German government: Look at what is happening in Hong Kong and call it by its name,” Wong said in an interview with German daily Bild. 

Pro-democracy protests “need the support of Europe right now” and there cannot be any excuses, he said. 

Earlier this week, the 23-year-old pro-democracy activist abandoned a top-tier position as part of the pro-democracy group Demosisto over fears that the organization would become a target now that China has imposed a controversial new security law for Hong Kong. Demosisto later chose to disband.

Wong told Bild that he would remain at the forefront of the Hong Kong protest movement and that he would stay in Hong Kong. 

Fellow activists leave Hong Kong

Fellow Hong Kong activist and Demosisto founding member Nathan Law on Thursday announced he had chosen to leave the city. In an interview with DW, Law said the legislation was “tailor-made for squeezing activists.”

China maintains the aim of the new law is to target secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces in Hong Kong. But critics say it could be used smother dissent in the semi-autonomous territory.

The first arrests under the new security law were made on Wednesday.

Demosisto has made repeated calls for the international community to act on behalf of Hong Kong to halt China’s growing interference in the financial hub, which has regularly seen anti-government protests over the past year.

Hong Kong was under British rule as a colony before it was returned to China in 1997. The “one country, two systems” arrangement grants the territory some autonomy, and its people more rights, but some observers see the new so-called security law as infringing on the promised autonomy.

kp/sms (AFP, dpa)

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Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-pleads-for-germany-s-support/a-54034757?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf