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Hong Kong student leaders charged over the 2014 protests

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Local authorities have charged three prominent Hong Kong student leaders on Thursday over their involvement in the pro-democracy protests of 2014.

Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow are accused of climbing a fence to break into a government compound at the start of the popular “Umbrella Movement.” The protests began in late September and demanded major changes to Hong Kong electoral system.

At the height of the protest, thousands of people occupied major streets demanding fully free elections for the city’s next leader, in the face of a contentious Beijing-backed political reform package in which candidates would have been vetted by a loyalist committee.

The student activists were among a large group of people who stormed the fenced-off Civic Square, which is part of the city’s government complex on 26th of September 2014. Wong and other activists were arrested, sparking wider demonstrations which exploded two days later when police fired tear gas to disperse the crowds.

Mr. Chow has been charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly and Mr. Law with inciting others to take part, while Mr. Wong faces both charges. The co-founder of Scholarism movement Mr. Wong called it a political prosecution said he would not regret his actions.

“Being involved in the civic square action is the best mission I have made in the four years I’ve been involved in social student movements,” said Joshua Wong, 18-year-old student leader charged over the 2014 protests.

Mr. Wong and other activists have accused the authorities of a witch hunt against those at the forefront of the Umbrella Movement that brought parts of the city to a standstill for more than two months. If convicted, the teenager activist faces a maximum of five years in prison and he is already due in court Friday for separate charges of obstructing police at an earlier demonstration.

Supporters holding yellow umbrellas gathered outside the police station and shouted “CY step down” referring to the city’s leader Leung Chung-ying. The trio will have their charges heard at a magistrate court on second of September. IMAGE/Jerome Favre/EPA

Bangkok bomb blast survivor returns to HK

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Bangkok bomb blast - The youngest person wounded in the Erawan shrine blast returned to Hong Kong on Thursday morning.

Jasmine Chu, nine-year-old, flew back to her home city with her father in the early hours of the morning on Thursday. She was seriously injured in the tragedy that shook Thailand’s security department last week. The bomb tore into her leg and she went through three different surgeries in Bangkok including a seven-hour long operation to remove a large piece of shrapnel from her thigh.

“I am definitely relieved to be back,” said Chu King-fun, father of Jasmine. “Now I hope my daughter will recover soon. In the past two days, she has been getting better and she is in a better mood. She is just worried about her school and her homework.”

Jasmine and her father, a retiree from a stock brokerage, were on a five-day holiday in Bangkok when they were caught up in the bomb attack. Her father escaped with minor injuries but their Thai friend was killed in the blast. Now Jasmine is being treated in Hong Kong’s Princess Margaret Hospital and her condition was stable.

“Doctors are examining her overall condition and then it will be decided what sort of follow-up action should be taken,”  a representative from Princess Margaret Hospital told the reporters.

Central Bangkok descended into chaos on 17th of August when a bomb exploded in Erawan shrine, killing 20 people and injuring at least 125. The explosion occurred around 7pm near the Brahmin statue on the Ratchaprasong intersection. Since the incident police have failed to track down a prime suspect captured on security cameras leaving a bag at the incident site moments before the blast.

The bombing at the Ratchaprasong intersection was the country’s worst single mass-casualty attack. The youngest victim of the bomb was a four-year-old Malaysian girl who was killed. IMAGE/scmp.com