Joshua Wong received news he would face charges as he was about to leave Hong Kong for a holiday in Japan.Hong Kong student activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung will face charges for obstructing police officers, he revealed today. Wong received a phone call from Hong Kong police informing him of their intention to arrest him for obstructing officers from carrying out their duty during a protest last year,
In a WhatsApp message to the media, the convenor of student group Scholarism said he was at Hong Kong International Airport for a flight to holiday in Japan this morning, when he got a call from the Western District crime squad. He was told to report to the police by Thursday, when he will be officially charged.
A police sergeant told Wong that he had allegedly obstructed officers from carrying out their duty, in a protest outside the central government’s liaison office in Western District on June 11 2014.
Wong said he remembers burning a copy of Beijing’s white paper on Hong Kong outside the liaison office that day.
“But fewer than 30 people took part in that protest. I really don’t understand how I obstructed the police from carrying out their duty,” he wrote.
Wong agreed to report to police next Monday or Tuesday after returning from holiday.
Police have yet to give a statement.
During the protest last year, Wong held a demonstration with the League of Social Democrats and People Power. They burned copies of the controversial white paper issued by the State Council. The white paper is seen as a threat to “one country, two systems” and made remarks that didn't sit well with the public, such as judges being “administrators”.
The groups were followed by the Civic Party, Labour Party and Democratic Party.
Raphael Wong Ho-ming, vice-president of the League of Social Democrats, also confirmed he got a call from the police today telling him he would face the same charge.
"If police think the offence is serious, why have they waited for over a year to prosecute us?" Wong asked. "This sounds to me like a political purge after Occupy Central and the political reform vote."