Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong freed on bail pending appeal

Wong and Law were originally given community service sentences that let them avoid prison after convictions for involvement in an unlawful assembly that kicked off the “Umbrella Movement” protests. (Photo: Pacific Chillino/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Hong Kong’s highest court freed pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong and Nathan Law on bail Tuesday pending an appeal of their prison sentences after they were convicted of sparking massive protests in 2014.

The pair were imprisoned after the justice secretary succeeded in getting an earlier, more lenient sentence overturned, raising concerns about political interference in the courts and dealing a setback to the movement for full democracy in the Chinese-controlled city.

The decision to release Wong, the city’s most famous activist, and Law, a disqualified lawmaker, coincidentally came the same day China’s Communist Party was ending a twice-a-decade congress in Beijing that expanded President Xi Jinping’s power. There appeared to be no link, though the two events highlighted the widening rift between mainland China and semiautonomous Hong Kong.

Law told reporters outside the Court of Final Appeal that he and Wong were granted bail until their appeals are heard on Nov. 7.

It’s unclear if they’ll be successful, he said.

“Let’s see,” Law said. “The world is watching the result of the case,” which he said would hinge on whether the “one country, two systems” principle guaranteeing Hong Kong wide autonomy from mainland China is still enforced.

He said he was looking forward to having a meal with his family after some “uncomfortable” times during his two months in prison.

Broadcaster RTHK reported that Judge Geoffrey Ma required each to post 50,000 Hong Kong dollars ($6,400) for bail, surrender their travel documents and report to police once a week.

Wong and Law were originally given community service sentences that let them avoid prison after convictions for involvement in an unlawful assembly that kicked off the “Umbrella Movement” protests.

Hong Kong’s justice secretary, however, requested that the courts review those punishments and in August Wong, 21, was given six months in prison and Law, 24, received eight months.

The move sparked fears that authorities were undermining the semiautonomous Chinese city’s independent judiciary, underscoring concerns among residents that Beijing is clamping down on dissent.

The two were among student leaders who spearheaded the protests against Beijing’s decision to restrict elections, bringing major thoroughfares in Hong Kong to a standstill for 79 days.

Wong gained fame, including a starring role in a Netflix documentary, for his prominent role in the protests while still a teen. Law was elected last year to the legislature, becoming the city’s youngest-ever lawmaker, and then was disqualified from office after a government legal challenge over irregularities in his oath.

Wong had also expressed a desire to run for office but the prison sentence prevents him from doing so for five years.

A third student leader, Alex Chow, who was also convicted and imprisoned in the same case did not request bail.