Hong Kong charges jailed activist for 'collusion with foreign forces'
Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong was charged again under the city's Beijing-imposed national security law on Friday, accused of collusion with foreign forces.
Wong, who is already serving a prison sentence for subversion, is one of the most recognisable faces of Hong Kong's now-quashed democracy movement.
The 28-year-old became a household name during student-led protests over a decade ago, and was also involved in the huge and sometimes violent democracy rallies that triggered the imposition of the 2020 national security law.
On Friday Wong was accused of asking foreign countries or individuals and institutions to "impose sanctions or blockade, or engage in other hostile activities" against Hong Kong and China, according to a charge sheet seen by AFP.
Wong, the now self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others also requested the foreign entities "seriously disrupt the formulation and implementation of laws or policies" in Hong Kong and China, it said.
These actions in 2020 were likely to cause "serious consequences", it continued.
The charge can carry a sentence of up to life imprisonment.
Wong appeared in court but did not speak except to acknowledge the charge, local media reports said.
The case was adjourned until August 8.
The national security law has seen the city's once vibrant civil society and political opposition all but vanish.
China and Hong Kong say the law was needed to curb political unrest, but rights groups and Hong Kong opposition figures say the ensuing crackdown has destroyed the city's autonomy and political freedoms.
twa/reb/rsc
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Pete Hegseth reveals why military recruitment has soared under Trump
Joining 'Fox & Friends' live from Normandy, France, where Allied forces once stormed the beaches to turn the tide of World War II, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth honored the 81st anniversary of D-Day with a message that looked not only to the past but to the future. As the nation honors the bravery and sacrifices of World War II veterans, Hegseth emphasized a new wave of patriotism among today's young Americans – one he says is driving an uptick in military recruitment. Advertisement 'It's historic. Of course it's a morale shift. It shifts back to the day President Trump was elected and then inaugurated,' he said Friday. The Army alone has posted the best recruiting numbers in years, reaching 61,000 for fiscal year 2025, with four months remaining. That's an increase of more than 6,000 from 55,150 in fiscal year 2024. Hegseth told co-hosts Ainsley Earhardt, Lawrence Jones and Brian Kilmeade that the spirit inside the U.S. armed forces is 'incredible' right now, and the morale shift isn't isolated to the Army. 'It's also the Air Force, it's also the Navy, it is also the Marine Corps, Coast Guard and, as the president says, law enforcement,' he continued. Advertisement 4 Pete Hegseth emphasized a new wave of patriotism driving military recruitment under Donald Trump while on Fox & Friends discussing the D-Day 81st anniversary ceremony in Normandy. FOX News 'Across the board, the spirit of our country, [there's a] willingness and desire to serve, because they see leadership that believes in the country that's going to have their back, that says, 'We want you to be warriors. We're not doing this politically correct garbage anymore. We're doing war fighting. We're training, we're preparing, we're focused on [getting] back to basics, and… the young people of America have responded, and they'll continue to respond.' 4 'Across the board, the spirit of our country, [there's a] willingness and desire to serve, because they see leadership that believes in the country that's going to have their back,' Hegseth said. AFP via Getty Images 4 Hegseth gives a speech during an International Commemorative Ceremony of the 81st Anniversary of the Landing of June 6, 1944, in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont, north western France. AFP via Getty Images Advertisement 4 President Donald Trump and superintendent Lieutenant General Steven W. Gilland salute graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point in Michie Stadium on May 24 in West Point, NY. Getty Images Hegseth attended this year's ceremony where military officials and veterans commemorated the 81st anniversary of D-Day. He started his morning with a physical training session with rangers from the 75th Ranger Regiment on Omaha Beach at nearly the same time as the first landing craft would have hit in 1944. 'These men [World War II soldiers] were willing to charge toward the guns with almost no chance of success, especially in those first waves, and they did it for us,' he said. Advertisement Days ago, the defense secretary honored the sacrifices of U.S. armed forces at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., where he greeted a number of World War II veterans whose resolve remains high more than half a century later. 'The contrast of those 100-year-old World War II vets and then those 25-year old Army Rangers that I did a workout with this morning – the blood of fighting for freedom still pumps in the veins of Americans, and we still raise those types, and that's what was really cool to see.'
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Liberia's ex-speaker charged with arson over parliament fire
Liberia's former speaker of parliament has been charged with arson over a fire at the nation's House of Representatives, local police have said. The huge blaze broke out last December, a day after plans to remove Jonathan Fonati Koffa from his role as speaker sparked protests in the capital, Monrovia. Koffa had been locked in a stand-off with his political opponents, with dozens of lawmakers voting for his impeachment in October over accusations of poor governance, corruption and conflicts of interest. Police said on Friday that there were "credible links" to suggest Koffa was "strategically involved" in the incident. Five other lawmakers have also been detained in connection to the case. Koffa has previously denied any connection to the fire breaking out. Police chief Gregory Colman said Koffa had been charged with a string of offences including arson, criminal mischief, endangering other people, and attempted murder. Colman said Koffa had used his office and staff "to co-ordinate sabotage efforts from as early as November 2023", according to news agency AFP. Koffa and several other lawmakers were summoned to the Liberian National Police headquarters on Friday as "persons of interest" in the case, local media reports. The former speaker and three sitting members of the House of Representatives were then remanded to Monrovia Central Prison on Saturday, newspaper FrontPage Africa reported. The blaze on 18 December 2024 destroyed the entire joint chambers of the West African nation's legislature. No one was inside the building at the time. The day before had seen tense protests over the plans to remove Koffa, with demonstrators including an aide to former President George Weah arrested. Several individuals, including Koffa and Representative Frank Saah Foko, were brought in for questioning by police. Foko, a prominent figure in the House of Representatives, allegedly uploaded a video to Facebook in which he said: "If they want us to burn the chambers, we will burn it." A team of independent US investigators brought in to assist the investigation concluded that the fire was set deliberately. Liberia's House of Representatives has been beset by a long-running power struggle. Although the bid to impeach Koffa fell short of the two-thirds majority required, the group of 47 lawmakers who had voted for the move unilaterally appointed their own speaker. Last month, Koffa resigned as speaker after months of political deadlock. Embattled Liberian speaker questioned by police over parliament fire Liberian speaker denies links to parliament fire
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gaza rescuers say Israel fire kills 36, six of them near aid centre
Gaza's civil defence agency said Israeli forces killed at least 36 Palestinians on Saturday, six of them in a shooting near a US-backed aid distribution centre. The Israeli military told AFP that troops had fired "warning shots" at individuals that it said were "advancing in a way that endangered the troops". The shooting deaths were the latest reported near the aid centre run by the Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF) in the southern district of Rafah and came after it resumed distributions following a brief suspension in the wake of similar deaths earlier this week. Meanwhile, an aid boat with 12 activists on board, including Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg, was nearing Gaza in a bid to highlight the plight of Palestinians in the face of an Israeli blockade that has only been partially eased. Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that at around 7:00 am (0400 GMT), "six people were killed and several others wounded by the forces of the Israeli occupation near the Al-Alam roundabout", where they had gathered to seek humanitarian aid from the distribution centre around a kilometre (a little over half a mile) away. Palestinians have congregated at the roundabout almost daily since late May. AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls compiled by the civil defence agency or the circumstances of the deaths it reports. Samir Abu Hadid, who was there early Saturday, told AFP that thousands of people had gathered near the roundabout. "As soon as some people tried to advance towards the aid centre, the Israeli occupation forces opened fire from armoured vehicles stationed near the centre, firing into the air and then at civilians," Abu Hadid said. - Activist boat nears Gaza - The GHF, officially a private effort with opaque funding, began operations in late May as Israel partially eased a more than two-month-long aid blockade on the territory. UN agencies and major aid groups have declined to work with it, citing concerns it serves Israeli military goals. On Saturday, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said that the overall toll for the Gaza war had reached 54,772, the majority civilians. The UN considers these figures reliable. The war was sparked by Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures. Israel has come under increasing international criticism over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the UN warned in May that the entire population was at risk of famine. The aid boat Madleen, organised by an international activist coalition, was sailing towards Gaza on Saturday, aiming to breach Israel's naval blockade and deliver aid to the territory, organisers said. "We are now sailing off the Egyptian coast," German human rights activist Yasemin Acar told AFP. "We are all good," she added. In a statement from London, the International Committee for Breaking the Siege of Gaza -- a member organisation of the flotilla coalition -- said the ship had entered Egyptian waters. The group said it remains in contact with international legal and human rights bodies and warned that any interception would constitute "a blatant violation of international humanitarian law". The Palestinian territory was under Israeli naval blockade even before Hamas's October 2023 attack and the Israeli military has made clear it intends to enforce it. "For this case as well, we are prepared," army spokesman Brigadier General Effie Defrin said on Tuesday. - Body of Thai hostage recovered - "We have gained experience in recent years, and we will act accordingly." A 2010 commando raid on the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara, which was part of a similar attempt to breach Israel's naval blockade, left 10 civilians dead. The Israeli military has stepped up its operations in Gaza in recent weeks in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas, whose October 2023 attack sparked the war. On Saturday, the military issued evacuation orders for neighbourhoods in northern Gaza, saying they had been used for rocket attacks. Separately, in a special operation in the Rafah area on Friday, Israeli forces retrieved the body of Thai hostage Nattapong Pinta, Defence Minister Israel Katz said. "Nattapong came to Israel from Thailand to work in agriculture, out of a desire to build a better future for himself and his family," Katz said. He was "brutally murdered in captivity by the terrorist organisation Mujahideen Brigades", the minister charged. The Mujahideen Brigades is an armed group close to Hamas ally Islamic Jihad that Israel has also accused over other deaths of hostages seized from Kibbutz Nir Oz near the border. The military said Nattapong's family and Thai officials had been notified of the operation. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura said the country was "deeply saddened" by his death. During the October 2023 attack, militants abducted 251 hostages, 55 of whom remain in Gaza, including 31 the Israeli military says are dead. bur-kir/dcp/ysm
