three prominent hong kong activists
joshua wong agnes chao and ivan lam
have been remanded in custody they've
all pled guilty to charges relating to
the siege of police headquarters in june
last year
these three are members of hong kong's
pro-democracy movement which has
faltered since a new national security
law gave the government sweeping powers
to suppress the opposition with more
from hong kong here's danny vincent
the three young activists arrived at
court defiant
using their platform to call for support
for their cause
they planned to plead guilty to the
charges they were prepared to be
remanded in custody
perhaps the authorities wish me to stay
in prison
but i'm persuaded neither prison boss
nor election bans nor any other
arbitrary power
will stop us from activism what we are
doing now is to explain the value of
freedom
to the world through our compassion to
whom we love
so much that we are willing to sacrifice
the freedom of our own
joshua wong agnes chao and ivan lam face
potential prison for their alleged
involvement in last year's
anti-government protests
activists say they face political
persecution
the authorities say protesters must pay
the price for their crimes
joshua wong is one of the most prominent
activists in hong kong
he became the face of the 2014 umbrella
protest movement as a teenager
he was in prison facing other charges at
the start of the 2019 protests
when thousands demonstrated for greater
political freedoms
he was released and once again took to
the streets
the three are facing charges for
inciting organizing and attending an
unlawful assembly
charges that could lead to five years in
prison
the pro-democracy camps say that young
hong kong activists are under attack
there have been more than ten thousand
demonstration related arrests since last
year
a new national security law has all but
silenced the street protest
movement the government says it's helped
to restore stability
activists say the legal system is
silencing the political opposition
danny vincent bbc news hong kong