A pro-democracy activist was arrested at the airport last night for allegedly taking part in the storming of the Legislative Council at an unruly protest in July.
Lily Wong, from Demosisto — the political party and youth group founded by Joshua Wong — was at the airport last night preparing to fly to Taiwan to observe the presidential elections, which take place on Saturday.
According to a post on the group’s Facebook page, a lawyer assisting Wong said she had been listed as a wanted person by police but wasn’t aware of it until after she was arrested.
https://www.facebook.com/demosisto/photos/a.497376730471154/1314198845455601/?type=3&theater
Demosisto’s chairman, Ivan Lam, confirmed to Ming Pao that Lily Wong was scheduled to board a flight to Taiwan at 6pm and stay there for up to five days. He said that Wong was intercepted by an immigration officer at the departures gate, and then taken to the airport police station to record a statement.
Lam said that Wong had been arrested prior to last night, and that her address was on record, so it was unclear why police chose to wait to arrest her until last night.
In the early hours of this morning, Demosisto confirmed that Wong was released on bail, and had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and “entering or remaining in precincts of [the] Chamber of the Legislative Council.”
Wong is accused of being among the dozens of anti-government protesters who streamed into the LegCo after a standoff with police at a July 1, 2019, anti-extradition bill protest timed to coincide with the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China.
The police presence inside the building had appeared to melt away after the crowds finally forced their way in, allowing mostly masked protesters to vandalize the legislative chamber and spray-paint anti-government slogans throughout the complex. Police reinforcements outside the building ultimately arrived and dispersed the remaining crowds.
