Occupy movement leaders reinvented? Joshua Wong to launch Hong Kong’s newest political party Demosisto
Occupy movement comrades Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Oscar Lai Man-lok and Agnes Chow Ting will join him in the “stand for democracy”
After disbanding Scholarism, the leader of the student group, Joshua Wong is set to launch his new political party – Demosisto – on Sunday.
Wong is to unveil Demosisto – derived from Greek (“demo” for “people”) and Latin (“sisto” for “to stand”), meaning “stand for democracy” – alongside Occupy movement comrades Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Oscar Lai Man-lok and Agnes Chow Ting.
Details of their agenda are unclear, but Wong, the young face of Hongkongers’ pursuit of democracy during the Occupy campaign in 2014, had previously called for a referendum to decide whether to change ‘one country, two systems’ or even to achieve self-determination in 2047.
No need for Hong Kong independence talk, says Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying
The party, whose name was made public in a press release yesterday, is also expected to field candidates in the Legislative Council elections later this year.
Demosisto’s formation comes as the city hotly debates the issue of Hong Kong independence.
Wong yesterday crossed swords with a staunch supporter of the chief executive, who likened advocating independence to “bullying” and “robbery”.
Kaizer Lau Ping-cheung, deputy director of Leung Chun-ying’s election campaign team in 2012, said if Wong put forward a referendum on Hong Kong’s fate beyond 2047, “he should seek the opinions of the 1.3 billion Chinese citizens first”.