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The 24-year-old opposition leader was sentenced to 10 months in prison on December 2 and could face more charges.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow was denied bail on Wednesday pending an appeal against her 10-month prison term on charges of unauthorized assembly during anti-protest protests. government last year.
The 24-year-old activist was convicted on December 2 along with Joshua Wong for their role in an illegal rally near police headquarters in 2019, the toughest and most publicized sentence of opposition figures this year.
Chow’s hearing follows the arrests of around 16 activists since Monday, as part of an ongoing crackdown on opposition forces in the Autonomous Territory.
Critics say the Beijing-backed government in Hong Kong is curtailing opposition and extended freedoms guaranteed after the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997, a charge rejected by authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Chow, along with Wong and Nathan Law, founded the now-disbanded democratic group Demosisto in 2016.
The party was disbanded hours after Beijing passed a contentious national security law in the city on June 30, fearing it would come under the law.
More loads possible
Chow was also arrested in August under new security legislation on suspicion of “collusion with foreign forces” but has yet to face charges.
Under the National Security Law, Beijing punishes what it broadly defines as sedition, secession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Chow has been on the Hong Kong government’s radar for years.
In 2018, Hong Kong election officials sparked a political storm after banning Chow in a by-election to the legislative council that year.
Chow was seeking to become the city’s youngest lawmaker by challenging the Hong Kong Island constituency seat vacated by Demosisto chairman Nathan Law, who now lives in exile in the UK.
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