The three had played a pivotal role in the 79-day “Occupy Central” demonstrations, or Umbrella Movement-a student-led protest in Hong Kong that sparked into a citywide movement-on September 26, 2014.
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Wong was found guilty of illegitimate assembly and climbing into the Civic Square, a Hong Kong government complex forecourt, on September 26, 2014, along with other students.
On Thursday, a court convicted Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow for unlawful assembly, for their role in starting the protests.
Alex Chow was found guilty of unlawful assembly and Nathan Law was found guilty of inciting others to join. The men said they had not yet decided whether they would appeal.
All three were released on bail to be sentenced on 15 August. They each could face up to two years in prison for leading the protests, which marked the former British colony’s most tumultuous period in decades.
“We may need to go to prison”, he said.
“We know facing the largest communist regime in the world is a long-term battle for us to fight for democracy”, he said.
Amnesty International Hong Kong director Mabel Au released a statement calling the charges vague and saying they smacked of political payback by the authorities.
Police handling of the initial protest and the arrests of the student leaders at that time were a crucial factor in tens of thousands of pro-democracy supporters taking to the streets in the days immediately afterwards, the group said.
Just last week, the Hong Kong government and the Electoral Affairs Commission sparked anger by saying that candidates for the September ballot can not support independence and must sign a declaration saying that Hong Kong is an “inalienable” part of mainland China.
The protests became known as the Umbrella Movement because of the yellow umbrellas the demonstrators carried.
The plan, which offered a one-person, one-vote in 2017 elections for chief executive, but required candidates to be vetted by Beijing, was voted down on June 18, 2015 by 28 votes to eight in Hong Kong’s Legislative Council, leaving the city with its existing voting arrangements still in place.
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While Umbrella Movement, a pro-democracy political movement in 2014, failed to receive concessions from Beijing, Wong has vowed to fight for the universal suffrage.
