Two student activists have accused the police of arresting them the day before June 12 — when they planned to set up a booth to mark the anniversary of a key date of Hong Kong’s 2019 protest movement — in order to keep them off the streets and send a warning to the public.

On Friday, police arrested Wong Yat-chin and Alice Wong of the activist group Student Politicism and accused them of promoting an unauthorized assembly, as well as inciting others to join an unlawful assembly. Police claimed the group’s social media posts encouraged violent resistance.

Both activists were released on bail on Sunday. After his release, Wong told Apple Daily that he believed he was granted bail because the arrest had “created too much noise.” Officers had asked him at least 70 detailed questions about his group’s posts on Facebook and Instagram, but he refused to answer, Wong added.

“The Hong Kong regime is using every method at its disposal to quash dissent and limit our freedom. It wants to strip us of our rights, such as the right to have street booths, rallies and protest marches — and it even wants to strip us of our hope, our future,” Wong said.

The two activists said that the timing of their arrest was meant to coincide with June 12, the second anniversary of the large-scale clashes between demonstrators and police outside the Legislative Council. That event is seen as one of the early turning points of the 2019 pro-democracy movement.

The police were “scared that we would host an event on June 12, and that our street booth would lead to unrest or even a riot. They waited until June 12 was over and then they let us go,” Wong said.

Alice Wong agreed, saying that she believed the police used the arrests to stop Student Politicism from going ahead with their planned street booth. “The arrests were meant to create white terror and to deter the public from standing up. It was oppressing the voice of the people,” she said.

A police spokesperson earlier said that Student Politicism was not just holding street booths, but was encouraging others to participate in unlawful assemblies and inciting violence.

The two activists were released on bail at around 1 a.m. on Sunday.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play