Agnes Chow Released from Prison

Former Demosisto Agnes Chow released from prison today

A bit of good news this morning -- Agnes Chow Ting was released from prison after serving almost seven months for her role in a 15-hours siege of the Wan Chai police headquarters on June 21, 2019 during the anti-government protests.

At around 10am the 24-year-old emerged from Tai Lam Centre for Women in Tuen Mun and was mobbed by almost 100 reporters while a small group of supporters shouted, "Chow Ting add oil!" before getting into a white van.

There was a media frenzy of about 100 reporters 

Reporters noted Chow was much thinner than before and she admitted so in her Instagram post a few hours later.

"The pain that lasted for six months and 20 days has come to an end. What comes next is some good rest and recovery for the body. That's because my body has become really weak and slim during this period of time," she said, adding her comment should be read with a bitter smile.

She was originally jailed last December for 10 months for illegal assembly over the siege of the Wan Chai police headquarters on June 21, 2019. Her early release was due to her good behaviour. She was initially sent to Lo Wu Correctional Institution, but was later transferred to an isolation cell at the Tai Lam facility.

Chow pleaded guilty to charges of incitement and taking part in an unauthorized assembly. Her colleagues, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, 24, and Ivan Lam Long-yin, 26, were also imprisoned over the gathering. 

Chow, Lam, Wong convicted of illegal assembly

The only one among the trio without a previous criminal record, Chow burst into tears in the dock on learning the community service order her lawyers were seeking had been rejected. She has been in custody since entering her guilty plea on November 23.

However Chow is not completely free -- she was also charged under the national security law for colluding with foreign forces on the same day Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was arrested for colluding with foreign forces by calling for sanctions.

So far the police have granted Chow bail and not yet charged her, they still have her passport.

Meanwhile this evening part of the city was crawling with police, with the second anniversary of June 12, 2019, when protesters surrounded the Legislative Council in a bid to prevent the second reading of the now withdrawn extradition bill.  

Protesters at Wan Chai police station June 21, 2019

At least 2,000 officers were on the streets, at one point blocking the Cross Harbour Tunnel to check cars heading to Hong Kong island, and and some even entered two shopping malls, one in Mongkok, the other in Causeway Bay.

Anniversaries will not be forgotten but at the same time the police show up in force creating more tension... never ending...

 

HK's War Against its Youth

Lam and Wong's last look at the media and supporters

 

Today three pro-democracy activists were jailed for their part in a protest last year at Hong Kong police headquarters in Wan Chai that evolved into a siege that lasted 15 hours. Joshua Wong Chi-fung, 24, was sentenced for 13.5 months, Agnes Chow Ting, 23, 10 months, and Ivan Lam Long-ying, 26, seven months.

Chow will spend her 24th birthday in jail

Wong and Chow are high-profile activists who were the faces protesting national education in 2012, the Umbrella Movement two years later, and establishing the now disbanded political party Demosisto. Only a few months ago Wong and Chow just graduated from university. Chow was the only one without a previous criminal record and sobbed when she heard her sentenced read out.

She will mark her 24th birthday in prison tomorrow.

West Kowloon Magistrate Wong Sze-lai sharply criticized Wong for challenging the authority of the police force in a premeditated plot, and called him "selfish" for obstructing traffic at the massive rally on June 21 last year.

She said they committed the offences at a time of "social unrest and large-scale public protests", which "made this case more serious".

Wong the night of June 21 at Police headquarters

During the siege, where people protested against excessive force by the police during the then anti-extradition protests, people threw eggs and soft drink cans at the police headquarters, and spray painted graffiti. There were so many people around the building that the officers were obstructed from attending 61 emergency calls.

Prosecutors described Wong as the leader of the protest that night, showing videos of him telling people at the scene through a bullhorn that they should get more people to come and "completely besiege police headquarters".

While Wong was recorded on video saying these things last year, and Chow and Lam were with him, witnesses who were there that night saw the crowd ignore him and the protesters in this leaderless movement decided what to do by discussions on Telegram. Wong left the scene early that evening.

The convictions were not just about what they did that night, but for all their years of activism, standing up against the government and inspiring others to do the same.

Wong protesting against national education

In 2011 Wong started Scholarism to protest against "moral and national education" curriculum put forward by the government. It would mean not learning about the Tiananmen Square massacre and casting the Communist Party in a better light. 

Scholarism organized a protest in late August 2012 around government headquarters in Tamar and tens of thousands showed up. Days later then chief executive Leung Chun-ying had to shelve the plan. 

Then in September 2014 the Umbrella Movement exploded after 87 rounds of tear gas was fired on protesters, and again Wong was the face of the protests. 

He was convicted and jailed in August 2017 and January 2018 for his role in the movement.

The jailing of this trio sends a strong signal to others not to stand up to authority, even if you may think protesting is right in principle. The space for dissent in Hong Kong is fast evaporating.

It also shows the government's unwillingness to engage with the next generation and reconcile differences -- the polarization is too extreme to find any middle ground.

87 rounds of tear gas fired on protesters in 2014

This is yet another sign forcing Hongkongers to decide whether they should leave the place they call home or stick it out, and become complacent.

There was more news today of Apple Daily found Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and two employees were charged with fraud. 

The government will continue to prosecute anyone it believes is contemptuous of it. 

The list is long.

Massive Turnout for Pro-Democracy Voters

This old China Motor Bus is converted into a polling station

The first day of the primaries began after a three-hour delay and started at around noon. Robert Chung Yiu-ting, head of Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute explained in the early hours of Saturday that it was because of the police raiding its Wong Chuk Hang offices that they reset the encryption key for the voting system out of security concerns.

However, the delay did not deter voters at all. Benny Tai Yiu-ting, one of the organizers of the primaries, had hoped for a total turnout of 170,000 -- but in fact almost 229,000 came out to cast their vote on the first day alone.

Long lines of voters were seen today

The primaries are an opportunity for pro-democracy voters to choose their best candidate for the upcoming Legislative Council elections to avoid splitting the vote. Tai is hoping for at least 35 pan-democrats to be voted in to take at half of the seats.

On social media there were pictures of long lines in many places, including 200 in Tai Po Plaza. The polling stations were also held in locations not necessarily easy to find, as Secretary for Constitutional Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai had warned the primaries could breach the national security law.

Some district councillors had planned to use their offices as polling stations, but were warned by their landlord, the Housing Authority, that doing so would breach their leases. Also a gelato shop that sells "tear gas ice cream" as one of its flavours in a shopping mall in Tsuen Wan was also warned about using its space as a polling station and pulled out.

Nevertheless, there were several unusual polling stations. One was an old China Motor Bus in Tuen Mun, and even a lingerie shop in Kennedy Town -- how did the men feel being in a shop full of bras! There were jokes about the primaries having "lots of support" coming out of the lingerie shop.

At one point several police descended on this shop as there were many people waiting to cast their votes. But luckily they were satisfied people were practicing social distancing and left.

This lingerie shop was also a polling station

Joshua Wong Chi-fung, formerly of Demosisto, canvased for votes in Kwun Tong and told people it was either the ballot or the bullet -- a pretty stark choice, but he went straight the point.

Some people voted after seeing the news of Wong's colleague, Nathan Law Kwun-chung flee Hong Kong, while others voted for localist candidates knowing they may not win, but wanted to have their voices heard.

And isn't that the point of voting? Universal suffrage was promised in the Basic Law but still has yet to be realized...

It has Come to This

Hong Kong is now pulled closer to China in "second handover"

The national security law has been gazetted and basically in effect now -- though we only now get to see what's in it (in Chinese).

The media are pouring over it now with precious minutes to point out things before midnight.

Then Governor Chris Patten at the 1997 handover

So it has come to this, which Beijing is promoting as the "second handover", the one with all the bells and whistles sorted out.

I still remember 23 years ago watching the handover on a large screen projected in a cafeteria in Chinese University. It was pouring rain, and Prince Charles stood stoically in the rain, while then Governor Chris Patten received the folded British flag as if it was draped on the coffin of a dead soldier.

There was anxiety about what was about to happen, but for the most part Hongkongers were glad to finally get rid of their colonial masters and feel proud to be Chinese.

That feeling soured in 2003 when some half a million people took to the streets to protest against the enactment of Article 23, and after the Beijing Olympics in 2008, and has gotten worse since then.

Carrie Lam refusing to answer NSL questions

Meanwhile Hong Kong was being governed by Hongkongers, but by leaders completely incapable of doing their job. It wasn't our fault -- Beijing wanted them installed as chief executive, and each successive one has been worse than the previous one.

And now we are stuck with Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who has been completely sidelined by Beijing and yet still being paid a pretty penny for being the most hated person in Hong Kong by both camps.

Beijing has lost its patience with Hong Kong -- it lost major face last year with the protesters defacing the Legislative Council and in particular the national emblem at the Liaison Office. The nail in the coffin was the district council elections in November, when 17 of the 18 districts became yellow overnight.

While Hongkongers were celebrating, Beijing was plotting its revenge to gain back control of the city with the national security law that was suddenly sprung on us on May 22 and was approved on May 28 and now here we are on the eve of the handover this draconian law is being enacted.

Wong, Law and Chow quitting Demosisto today

We don't know what's in it, but it's enough to scare the leadership of Demosisto -- Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Agnes Chow Ting -- to quit the party. People are deleting posts on social media, while some yellow shops are taking down their mini Lennon Walls to avoid attracting attention.

The reign of terror has already begun. One owner of a cafe that was part of the "yellow economic circle" said he was followed by strangers and received threatening messages that his family would be harmed.

With some 200 staff working for him, he decided it was better to formally leave this network than to have any problems.

Some die-hard protesters are sad and upset people are caving in, but can you blame them? Their concerns are very real.

Remember Hong Kong before June 30, 2020. Remember as much as you can because future generations depend on us to tell them what happened pre-NSL. Pre-1997.

Hong Kong will never be the same again.

National Security Law Sparks Press Freedom Worries

Hong Kong's National Security Law closer to promulgation

The dreaded national security law has been drafted, but "collusion" has been added to the wording that created more fear for democracy activists and lawmakers.

According to Xinhua, the law outlines crimes of secession, subversion of state power, terrorist activities, and collusion with foreign and external forces to endanger national security, as well as lays out their penalties, but no details were given.

Originally collusion was not included in the resolution passed last month by the National People's Congress, but legal experts claim this brings the national security law in line with China's criminal laws.

Kwok worries lawmakers could be caught in law

However, pan-democrats and democracy activists are concerned how collusion will be applied in Hong Kong.

Civic Party lawmaker Dennis Kwok Wing-hang and legal sector representative says: "We frequently come across consuls general, foreign legislators, officials, academics, and journalists. We would talk to them about Hong Kong and they would talk to us about international affairs that are of interest to them. Are they saying that all those would be deemed as colluding with foreign forces, hence [it] would become a criminal activity going forward? That is ridiculous."

Joshua Wong Chi-fung of Demosisto says the collusion charge could force Hong Kong to further cut ties with the rest of the world and punish "all those who urge the government to uphold the city's freedoms and human rights to international standards."

It is not clear when the law will be passed, as it seems very early to pass it this weekend. The next convening of the Standing Committee is in August, but there is talk they may possibly hold a special meeting next month to pass it.

Wong (left) Hong Kong will cut ties with law

Meanwhile, journalists are extremely worried about the upcoming implementation of the law, with 98 percent of 150 surveyed are against the legislation, as they are concerned how the law will impact press freedom and their own welfare.

About 87 percent believed the new law would "seriously affect" press freedom in Hong Kong, and 92 percent were worried about their personal safety.

Chris Yeung, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association warned that journalists could fall into the scope of the national security law.

"Reporters or editors could be liable to those crimes, so those threats to us are not just psychological, but substantive in the sense that they might face those charges," he said.

Yeung also said there were concerns journalists would be worried about covering sensitive topics, comparing it to stepping on landmines.

Yeung says journalists are very worried about law

Nevertheless, despite the pessimistic outlook, only 13 percent of those surveyed said they would leave the industry when the new law came into effect.

Many are probably waiting to see what the law actually says before making up their minds.

Any way you look at it, the national security law is not reassuring...

Liaison Office's Massive Property Porfolio in HK

The liaison office, through a company, owns over 700 properties in Hong Kong

Through a shell company, Bejiing owns a lot of property in Hong Kong. Even better it didn't have to pay any stamp duties on the staggering 757 residences, offices, car parks and entire buildings as of February last year.

The political party Demosisto, led by Joshua Wong Chi-fung released the findings today, which are staggering to say the least.

Joshua Wong of Demosisto released the findings today

The report says the company, called Newman Investment Company Limited, which was set up in 1972, bought 400 residences before the handover in 1997, about 180 between 1998 and 2014, and then another 130 between 2014 and last year. The total value is estimated at HK$3.4 billion.

Previously local media had estimated the company, whose five directors appear to have the same names as officials in the liaison office, had a portfolio of between 300 to 500 properties. This was obviously grossly underestimated.

Wong says the increased number of flats in the last few years shows Beijing is increasing its reach in Hong Kong.

"Beijing has scaled up its property empire after the 'umbrella movement' in 2014, reaching out its tentacles from Hong Kong Island to other places in the city," Wong said, referring to the large-scale civil disobedience movement that blocked part of the city for 79 days over universal suffrage.

He said Demosisto would submit these findings to the US Department of State, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and Britain's All-Party Parliamentary Group Hong Kong.

However, pro-establishment lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, chairwoman of the New People's Party, said she believed most of the residences were for housing liaison office employees.

Regina Ip says the flats are used to house liaison office staff

"When rents are so expensive in Hong Kong, I don't see any problem for the liaison office to purchase flats for its employees to live in," she said. "It might have bought more units in recent years, as it expected to become more and more costly."

We all know housing is expensive in Hong Kong, but they snapped up over 700 properties, not all of them flats. So how many people work in the liaison office, and do they actually live in these flats? What about the offices and entire buildings? What are those used for?

Demosisto estimates at least 722 staff work in the liaison office. What do they all do?

Perhaps even better, this company, because of its links with the liaison office, does not need to pay HK$124 million in stamp duty over the past five years of property purchases.

According to the Stamp Duty Ordinance, the central government, or any "incorporated public officer or any person acting in his capacity has a public officer shall not be liable for the payment of stamp duty".

The company bought 20 flats at Grand Central last year

Seems like this ordinance was specifically written to benefit a particular company...

Last February, a local newspaper reported the liaison office had paid HK$247.5 million, through Newman Investment, for 20 flats at Grand Central complex in Kwun Tong, according to the Land Registry. The office later insisted the properties were used as staff quarters, and denied suggestions it had intended to resell them for a quick profit.

While many of these properties may be "housing", they still are a good investment...

White Terror in Hong Kong

Agnes Chow and Joshua Wong emerge having been released on bail today

Today reached new heights of shock with a slew of arrests last night, today and more are still happening as the clock approaches midnight Hong Kong time.

On Thursday night, Andy Chan Ho-tin of the now outlawed Hong Kong National Party was detained when he was trying to board a plane to Tokyo. He was arrested on suspicion of rioting and assaulting a police officer during an anti-parallel protest in Sheung Shui last month.

Former HKU student leader Althea Suen was also arrested

Then this morning there was word that Demosisto's secretary general Joshua Wong Chi-fung was arrested at 7.30am when he was in Ap Lei Chau; apparently he was nabbed into an unmarked car and then sent to the Wan Chai police station.

This goes against police regulations -- transporting all those arrested should be in clearly marked cars.

His arrest was quickly followed by another Demosisto member, Agnes Chow Ting, who also picked up in the same manner in Tai Po.

What had they done wrong?

But that wasn't all. The police were looking for Ivan Lam also of Demosisto, but he is in Taiwan now. There was also Althea Suen Hiu-lam, a former student leader at the University of Hong Kong.

Andy Chan was stopped from boarding a flight to Tokyo

And then there were three pro-democracy lawmakers who were taken by police: Cheng Chung-tai for conspiracy of criminal damage in the Legislative Council on July 1, Au Nok-yin for suspicion of obstructing police in the execution of their duties and assaulting police, and then former Cathay Pacific pilot Jeremy Tam for obstructing police officers on July 8, possibly related to clashes that followed a march in Tsim Sha Tsui the day before.

Sha Tin District Council member Rick Hui Yui-yu was also arrested on suspicion of obstructing police officers performing their duty during clashes at New Town Plaza shopping centre on July 14.

Speaking at a press conference, fellow Sha Tin District Council member George Wong Hok-lai said: "The police claimed that he [Hui] was obstructing police operations but as we saw on the news, he was performing his duty as a district councillor to assist the residents and protect them in Sha Tin."

Former Cathay Pacific pilot Jeremy Tam was arrested

A pro-Beijing newspaper had claimed Hui pretended to be a journalist, but Wong said Hui was wearing a reflective vest with a label on the back stating he is a district council member.

Late in the afternoon Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow were released on a HK$10,000 bail each, and outside the court, both were defiant and continued to demand the government withdraw the extradition bill, have an independent inquiry into police brutality, to stop calling the protesters "rioters", and have universal suffrage.

"Beijing just conveniently manipulates Hong Kong people's freedom," Wong said. "I urge the international community to send a message to President Xi, sending troops or using the emergency ordinance is not the way out."

Meanwhile Chief Superintendent John Tse Chun-chung of the police public relations branch, denied the arrests were meant to deter supporters from attending a banned protest march tomorrow, from Chater Garden in Central to the liaison office in Western district.

But so many people in one day?

Au Nok-hin was also taken by police in a series of arrests

Either Hong Kong police are doing this show of force to satisfy Beijing that it has rounded up those who it believes are causing trouble, or it really does believe "black hands" are manipulating these people?

The police also claim to have enough evidence to prosecute all these people...

In the meantime, the planned protest tomorrow has been cancelled, which means anyone near the area could be arrested for illegal assembly. Even bystanders could be nabbed. Some think of lots of people show up then how can the police arrest so many people? But then again they already have arrested 900 people... what's a few thousand more?

As Agnes Chow says, stop the white terror. Hongkongers will find another way to protest.

Picture of the Day: Upside Down Flag

Chinese flag was flying upside down on Friday morning at the Liaison Office

We can't help but be amused by the incident of the Chinese flag hoisted upside down outside the Liaison Office in Western District on Friday.

A picture of it went up on Facebook at 7am on Friday with the caption: "Inverted national flag. What happened? A special occasion?"

By 2pm on Friday, the post had attracted about 300 comments and some 2,800 responses, including 1,500 "haha" messages and about 1,000 likes.

The post was shared 500 times, one of them was Joshua Wong Chi-fung, co-founder and leader of the Demosisto Party.

"How to interpret this? Would people be considered to be breaking the national flag law for posting this picture?" Wong asked on his Facebook page.

The National Flag and National Emblem Ordinance says a person who publicly and wilfully desecrates the national flag can be fined up to HK$50,000 (US$6,378) or jailed for three years. 

So who committed this shameful act right in the office that represents Beijing?

The Liaison Office would not publicly assign blame, only to say: "We have seriously reprimanded the staff member, and we would like to thank the Hong Kong society for their concern," an official with the office said. "We will improve our management to make sure that this will not happen again."

And we are sure this will NEVER happen again at the Liaison Office, of all places. 

We want to know -- how long did it take the Liaison Office to know the flag was flying upside down? It shows that even the minions and officials who walk into the building didn't even notice something was wrong...

Raking in the Donations

Tens of thousands came out to march and support their political parties

In yesterday's post I complained about how the July 1 protest march was a constant barrage of speeches angling for donations.

But it's interesting to find out today who garnered the most money -- Demosisto.

With Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Agnes Chow Ting waving to the crowd, cheering on the marchers and shaking hands, the political party received HK$530,000 (US$67,950). This is a 23 percent increase from last year's donations totaling HK$430,000.

Agnes Chow encourages the marchers in the heat

The party has gone through a lot of upheaval in the past year, with Nathan Law Kwun-chun stepping down from Demosisto after he, the party's sole representative in the Legislative Council, was kicked out for not reading the oath of office properly.

Ivan Lam Long-yin, the new chairman of Demosisto says despite having lost their sole lawmaker in Legco, the public still supports them.

Lam says the donations will be used to continue Demosisto's campaign called "Decoding Hong Kong's History", an archival research project that looks into declassified documents related to Hong Kong's handover in 1997.

He also said the money would be used to attend international conferences and fund the group's work on producing material related to issues like the proposed national anthem law.

Lee Cheuk-yan's Labour Party saw a drop in donations

Another big winner yesterday was Democracy Groundwork, led by disgraced lawmaker Lau Siu-lai, who had a 45 percent jump in donations to HK$276,000. She said she was buoyed by the support they received and is considering running in the upcoming Legco by-election in November.

Meanwhile traditional pan-democratic parties saw a drop in their donation takings. The League of Social Democrats which had several members embroiled in court cases, saw a 9 percent drop in donations to HK$460,000, while the Civic Party, Democratic Party and Labour Party saw a decline as well.

So Hong Kong people vote with their feet literally and their wallets it seems...

The Annual July 1 March

It took us over an hour and a half to walk out of Causeway Bay

Today is Canada Day and HKSAR day... the 21st anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland. The best way to celebrate? March in protest against the Hong Kong government!

When we arrived at Victoria Park from the Tin Hau MTR station, the football pitches were set up for a pro-Beijing Hong Kong Celebrations Association featuring a lion dance exhibition with many tents, but hardly anyone there. There was a joke that people were being paid to show up there.

Calls were made to free Liu Xia from house arrest

Meanwhile next to the pitches is a lawn area that wasn't full, but had a few thousand people already gathered. Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor was there -- in the form of a cardboard cut out, while other people held up banners for their specific causes. A significant one demanded that Liu Xia, the wife of Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo be freed from house arrest.

Almost as soon as we arrived, organizers encouraged us to leave at 3pm on the dot, walking towards Tin Hau and then turning right onto Hennessy Road. Getting out of Victoria Park was OK, and at the beginning we walked quite quickly.

But soon we came to a complete stop and crawled along Hennessy Road. In fact it took an hour and a half just to walk out of Causeway Bay and into Wan Chai. Weather-wise it was slightly overcast, with periodic breezes which was nice. For a few seconds some raindrops fell.

Carrie Lam made a flat appearance...

When we were near the shopping mall Hysan Place, we could actually feel the cold air from the air conditioning blasting from the mall! There were some policemen who posted themselves right by the mall entrance to benefit from the air conditioning...

Periodically someone on loud speakers would encourage marchers to chant slogans, but for the most part the street was lined with political parties and social groups soliciting for donations which got a bit too much.

We saw people like Lee Cheuk-yan of the Labour Party, League of Social Democrats' Lau Siu-lai who was ousted from the Legislative Council, and Joshua Wong Chi-fung of Demsisto give speeches and then less than an hour later we saw them again in Wan Chai. It wasn't just political parties, but every other cause under the sun, from human rights, to animal rights, saving Lantau, to recycling and stop shopping. Domestic helpers demanded more money and there was even a group supporting North Korean defectors.

The constant barrage of voices on microphones was nauseating, combined with the heat and having to walk slow wasn't much fun. We were also joined by the Falun Gong which was awkward.

Strangely the Falun Gong joined us with drums

We could hear a marching band behind us and it was a coordinated group of people in blue and yellow satin outfits, banging on drums and playing trumpets, clarinets and saxophones wearing white gloves. We didn't want to be associated with them, but they were marching at a good pace that made us jealous!

Nevertheless, by the time we got to Admiralty, things were looking up and we were walking at a good pace to the border with Central and then we turned right to make a loop towards Tamar. Here we were stopped so that cars could go by and behind me I could see lots of people waiting like us.

Organizers estimated around 50,000 people, lower than last year, but my friend YTSL begs to differ as she has marched every year in the last several years. She says definitively that this year there were many more people than last year, which organizers had said 60,000 people showed up.

So how could this year only be 50,000?! The police had the gall to say only 9,000 people marched.

When we reached Tamar, we were actually allowed to go into Civic Square, which was a strange sensation as it had always been locked up during then leader Leung Chun-ying's time. It was a bit of an anti-climax ending the march here and then having to wait for the rest of the marchers to come before a rally would be held.

I decided to leave early and went home, sweaty and tired, but happy to be counted with the discontented.

Nathan Law Quits Demosisto

Nathan Law was the youngest elected lawmaker to the Legislative Council

Former legislator Nathan Law Kwun-chung has had enough and is quitting Demosisto, the political party he co-founded.

The 24-year-old pro-democracy activist made the announcement yesterday on social media, saying he was stepping down as chairman of the two-year-old party, while co-founder Joshua Wong Chi-fung remains Demosisto's secretary-general.

Law said in his Facebook post on Wednesday that he is not abandoning his vision or beliefs, but wanted to "open up paths that were not explored before".

Law (far left) with Joshua Wong and Alex Chow at Occupy

"Since the umbrella movement, I have been living in the vortex of the political storm. In the face of the stern political situation, I found myself overloaded both physically and mentally. I need time to rally my forces and think about the road ahead."

Indeed he has been through a lot since he and Wong started Scholarism exactly seven years ago this month and since then Law has been in the public eye, particularly during the Occupy Movement in 2014.

Two years later the duo started Demosisto and Law ran and won a seat in the Legislative Council elections that year.

However, Law was dogged with law suits and jail time -- he, Wong and Alex Chow Yong-kang were convicted and jailed for six to eight months last August for their role in the Occupy protests that were deemed illegal.

Also after he was elected democratically into Legco in 2016, he was disqualified last year by the court for his improper oath-taking in which he made a short speech before taking the oath.

Law campaigning in 2016 with the Demosisto party

He quoted Mahatma Gandhi in saying: "You can chain me, you can torture me, you can even destroy this body, but you will never imprison my mind." And then as he took the oath, when it came to the word "republic", he changed the tone of his voice as if you ask a question -- "I swear allegiance to... the People's Republic of China?" he asked.

Although his oath was validated by the clerk, there was an unprecedented legal challenge mounted by then chief executive Leung Chun-ying and Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung. First it was Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung who were disqualified, then Law along with three others.

So one can imagine Law might be mentally and physically exhausted after what he has gone through. He also hints it's time to figure out another way to fight the establishment, though how else can one do that without doing something illegal these days?

The pro-Beijing side must be elated -- one less opponent to deal with (for now), and now there is speculation how much longer Demosisto will be around now that one of the co-founders is leaving.

It's not easy to walk away from something you have started, but perhaps Law feels now is the time to take a break and figure out what to do next.

Where's Hong Kong's "High Degree of Autonomy"?

Agnes Chow's dreams of running for political office were shut down today

The Hong Kong government is shifting the goal posts again on behalf of Beijing, this time in an upcoming by-election.

You may recall six pro-democracy lawmakers were disqualified from being lawmakers when it was decided that they did not take their oaths of office properly.

One person who wanted to run in the race was Demosisto's Agnes Chow Ting, but today she found out she was rejected as a candidate.

The reason?

Lam claims self-determination is not allowed in Basic Law

Not because she advocated independence -- we know is a complete no-no -- but because she promoted self-determination.

In a statement, the government said:

"Self-determination" or changing the HKSAR system by referendum which includes the choice of independence is inconsistent with the constitutional and legal status of the HKSAR as stipulated in the Basic Law, as well as the established basic policies of the PRC regarding Hong Kong. Upholding the Basic Law is the basic legal duty of a legislator. If a person advocates or promotes self-determination or independence by any means, he or she cannot possibly uphold the Basic Law or fulfill his or her duties as a legislator.

Wait a second. Does the government even understand what a referendum is? A referendum means everyone has a say to vote on an issue in how Hong Kong moves forward. It is not determined by a small group of elites, but democratically through one person, one vote.

But no, the government or Beijing is so terrified of this possibility that it has decided self-determination should not be allowed in Hong Kong.

Joshua Wong says youth will be even more disillustioned

However, the same government statement says earlier:

Article 12 of the Basic Law states that the HKSAR shall be a local administrative region of the PRC, which shall enjoy a high degree of autonomy and come directly under the Central People's Government.

So what does "high degree of autonomy" mean then, if we are not allowed self-determination?

Of course Chow was upset by the decision, saying, "It is obviously a political decision and political screening, and the government is trying to shirk responsibility [by passing it on] to the returning officer, who should be only in charge of executive procedures," she said. "We can see that Hong Kong is not ruled by law or [governed by] the rule of law, but only ruled by the Beijing government."

One of Demosisto's platforms is to have a city-wide referendum on the city's political future, including the option of independence from China.

"The government did not only disqualify Chow, but all members of Demosisto, and even the entire younger generation," says Joshua Wong Chi-fung, the party's co-founder. "I am not certain how many young comrades can stand as candidates in future."

Law professor Johannes Chan says Chow's rejection is illegal

Basically the government has decided Demosisto is an outlaw, that its political thinking is illegal and therefore its candidates are disqualified.

Is this how Chief Executive Carrie Lam thinks she can heal the rift between the generations? She has just inflamed the youth even more.

What is wrong with Chow running in a by-election? What are the chances of her winning? And even if she does win, Legco is still stacked with pro-establishment lawmakers. Why is the government so worried?

Legally the government may not be allowed to do what it just did, according to Michael Davis, a former law professor at the University Hong Kong. He warned Chow's disqualification was wrong and the government was on a "slippery slope", while former university law dean Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun said there was no legal basis for such a move.

A march is planned tomorrow to government headquarters, and in the meantime does Chow have any legal recourse? If so we hope her lawyers are filing the papers now for Monday morning.

The government is fixing the race by changing the rules. How convenient.

Strength in Numbers

Thousands of people at Johnston and Luard roads waiting for march to start

It turns out there weren't only a few people outraged about the jailing of the three Occupy leaders, Joshua Wong Chi-fung Nathan Law Kwun-chung and Alex Chow Yong-kang -- there were tens of thousands of them.

Police estimated there were about 22,000 people who started the march at Southern Playground in Wan Chai -- which probably means there were many, many more people willing to be outside in the hot sun, pouring with sweat.

We were stuck on Luard Road for an hour --  in the shade!

I took the MTR from Admiralty to Wan Chai and there were so many people getting on the train that I knew already that lots of protesters would show up. That was the biggest concern of my friend YTSL who worried that only a few people would show up like on July 1.

One would think the 20th anniversary of the handover would be enough to spur people to get out into the streets, but it was this hot button issue of jailing what the foreign media are calling "Hong Kong's first prisoners of conscience" that got people out.

YTSL and I managed to find each other and then headed out the to the Johnston Road exit where it seemed everyone else was heading, but after we got out of Southern Playground, we barely moved for an hour.

Some confused tram riders refused to get off...

We speculate the police underestimated how many people would show up and so the march was halted from starting in order to get enough manpower to close the streets and stand along the march path.

Or they were trying to make protesters annoyed enough that they would leave before it began. A few elderly people did -- it really was quite hot -- but other than that the rest of us stayed put and shouted "hoi lo!" or "let us march!"

At around 4.15pm we finally made our way up Luard Road and then turned left onto Hennessy Road. A few people tried to pump up the crowd with slogans, but for the most part we just wanted to show our presence.

Many yellow umbrellas reminiscent of the Occupy protests

One elderly protester seemed keen to pick fights with anyone, police officers in particular with verbal slurs, but his friends dragged him away or told him to calm down. We're just here to march, mister! No need to start a fight!

From Hennessy Road onwards to the Court of Final Appeal in Central, it was pretty smooth sailing and we could walk at a decent pace. Tons of buses going west were stopped in their tracks, along with trams going in each direction. We wondered why people would stay in the trams because they wouldn't be moving for quite a while...

It was kind of bizarre how we had to wait for an hour at the starting point, but it took less than an hour to march to Central. When we got to the end, volunteers were soliciting donations for the three pro-democracy groups that organized the march: League of Social Democrats, Demosisto and Civil Human Rights Front.

Afterwards people rallied at the Court of Final Appeal

They asked for a minimum of HK$10 but I saw several people put HK$100 and even HK$500 bills in the boxes.

We didn't stay behind for the rally, as there were thousands of people behind us who had yet to arrive, but we were just pleased to voice our opinion with our feet!