Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, three others plead guilty to taking part in 2020 Tiananmen Square vigil

District councillors Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen and Jannelle Rosalynne Leung also admit knowingly taking part in unauthorised assembly, an offence that could earn them five years’ jail

The group are the first of 26 charged over the June 4 commemoration to enter pleas; media mogul Jimmy Lai is also among the accused, two of whom have absconded

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Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong (centre) pleaded guilty on Friday to taking part in a banned Tiananmen Square vigil on June 4, 2020. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 11:48am, 30 Apr 2021Updated: 7:13pm, 30 Apr 2021

Jailed Hong Kong opposition activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung has pleaded guilty to taking part in an unauthorised June 4 vigil last year commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

Three district councillors – Lester Shum, Tiffany Yuen Ka-wai and Jannelle Rosalynne Leung – have also admitted knowingly taking part in an unauthorised assembly, an offence under the Public Order Ordinance that could land them five years in prison.

All four defendants were remanded in jail ahead of sentencing next Thursday, but all except Leung were already behind bars before Friday’s hearing.

The four were the first batch of defendants to enter a formal plea at the District Court on charges arising from the annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park, which police banned last year for the first time since it started in 1990.

Despite Hong Kong police rejecting the application for the event, thousands turned up for the annual Tiananmen Square commemoration last year. Photo: Robert Ng

Prosecutors have laid a total of 39 charges against 26 leading opposition figures, including jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. The charges include organising or taking part in an unauthorised assembly and a related incitement offence.