Occupy leaders Joshua Wong and Nathan Law freed on bail and raring to continue democracy fight
The government can ‘lock up our bodies but they can’t lock up our minds’, Wong says, as duo walk free pending their appeals
Jailed Occupy protest leaders Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Nathan Law Kwun-chung presented a picture of defiance after they were released on bail by Hong Kong’s chief justice on Tuesday, vowing to continue their fight for greater democracy.
“Our time in prison is just a process and a chance for us to strengthen our determination to fight for democracy,” Wong told a group of nearly 100 journalists outside the Court of Final Appeal, following a 10-minute morning hearing before Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li that drew scores of supporters.
“No one would like to be put in prison, but that’s just ... part of our commitment to show that even under the hardline [governance] of President Xi Jinping, even [if] it’s still far away to reach democracy, we will still continue, through non-violent civil disobedience, strikes or different direct action on the street, to let people in the world know we still ask for free elections,” Wong said.
Watch: Occupy student leaders Joshua Wong and Nathan Law speak to the media
The two student leaders were freed after two months in custody, pending their appeals to the city’s top court over jail terms that replaced the community service orders they had earlier completed.