HONG KONG: 3 leading pro-democracy activists arrested

Police authorities in Hong Kong have arrested three leading pro-democracy activists hours before a major protests in the semi-autonomous city.

Reports say Demosisto Party leaders, Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, were arrested on Friday, just hours after independence activist, Andy Chan, was arrested at the city’s airport, in the run-up to a major demonstration scheduled for Saturday.

According to a report on social media by Demosisto Party, Wong, the organisation’s secretary-general, and Chow, a senior member, were arrested separately and taken to the Wan Chai police headquarters.

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The South China Morning Post reported that Wong and Chow are being charged for “unlawful assembly” by authorities in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Chan was reportedly arrested “on suspicion of rioting and assaulting a police officer”, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.

“They want to arrest them to show that they have the ability to finish this movement,” Isaac Cheng, Demosisto spokesman said in a news conference, adding that the Chinese government wanted to instill fear “on Hong Kong demonstrators”.

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