Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong and three other activists were convicted Friday of attending an unauthorized rally held on June 4 to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
The four had pleaded guilty to the charge at the same Hong Kong court earlier in the day. They were found to have participated in the rally even though it had been banned by police citing public safety and health concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Wong is already serving time after receiving a prison sentence of 13 and a half months and another for four months over two pro-democracy assemblies in 2019. Wong, Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen and Jannelle Leung were remanded in custody awaiting sentencing, set for May 6.
"While we can't change the world, we must not be changed by the world," Wong shouted to supporters in court while being escorted away. In response, the supporters, including family members of the defendants, chanted, "Stay strong!"
District Court judge Stanley Chan said a non-custodial sentence would not be a proper punishment.
The annual June 4 candlelight vigil at Victoria Park was banned by police for the first time last year, but thousands of people reportedly attended it nonetheless.
Nearly two dozen other activists, including organizers of the event, former lawmakers and media mogul Jimmy Lai, were also indicted for hosting, taking part in and inciting others to join the rally.
Also, on Friday, legal scholar Benny Tai, who, along with others, led the 2014 "Umbrella Movement" protest, as well as eight others, lost their appeals against public nuisance convictions and the prison sentences they were slapped with in 2019.
Their convictions were in connection with a monthslong demonstration that shut down part of the city in a bid to bring about democratic elections.
Among pro-democracy activists, Wong, Lai and Tai have drawn special scrutiny from Beijing. All three have separately been charged with violating the sweeping national security law, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Tai, who was released on bail in 2019 pending the appeal but detained on a separate subversion charge earlier this year, will have to serve the remainder of his 16-month prison sentence.
