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Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong wins appeal to reduce jail sentence by 2 months over role in banned Tiananmen vigil

  • Court of Appeal rules in favour of Wong, judges order reduction, plus two months from unauthorised assembly sentence to be served concurrently with two other cases
  • Activist awaits national security trial for alleged role in unofficial Legislative Council primary election in 2020

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Opposition activist Joshua Wong (centre) at the banned Tiananmen Square vigil in 2020. Photo: Sam Tsang
Imprisoned Hong Kong opposition activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung has won an appeal to reduce his 10-month jail term by one-fifth for his role in a banned Tiananmen Square vigil two years ago.
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The Court of Appeal on Wednesday also ordered that two months of the sentence should be served concurrently with the 17½ months he had received for two other cases.

The rulings by Justices Maggie Poon Man-kay and Anthea Pang Po-kam shortened Wong’s current sentence to 23½ months, for his involvement in three unauthorised assemblies since the social unrest began in 2019.

But he will still face a national security law case for his alleged role in an unofficial Legislative Council primary election in 2020, for which he was denied bail.

Wong was jailed for 10 months in May, after admitting that he had knowingly taken part in an unauthorised assembly, an offence punishable by up to five years in prison, at Victoria Park in Causeway Bay on June 4, 2020.

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The District Court previously heard that the candlelight vigil drew about 20,000 participants, despite police banning the annual event for the first time since 1990 amid concerns over the risk of Covid-19 infections.

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