Hong Kong disqualifies democracy activist Joshua Wong from district elections
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong's government disqualified prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong from upcoming district elections on Tuesday, a move likely to sow further discord in a city hit by five months of anti-government unrest.
Wong, who was 17 when he became the face of the 2014 student-led Umbrella Movement, has not been a prominent figure in the current anti-government protests, which are largely leaderless, in the Chinese-ruled city.
However, the bespectacled Wong, now 23, holds a high profile internationally and described his disqualification - on the grounds that advocacy of Hong Kong's self-determination violates electoral laws - as "political censorship".
Protests, which started over a now-withdrawn extradition bill, have evolved into calls for greater democracy. They have plunged the city into its biggest crisis in decades, taken a heavy toll on the economy and show little sign of letting up.
Read more: https://www.metro.us/news/the-big-stories/hong-kong-disqualifies-democracy-activist-joshua-wong-district-elections
(Metro New York)
