Former Scholarism leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, 19, was convicted of "unlawful assembly"—allegedly for storming government headquarters on the eve of the 2014 Occupy movement. Two co-defendants—Demosisto chairman Nathan Law Kwun-chung and former Federation of Students secretary general Alex Chow Yong-kang—were respectively convicted of an incitement charge and unlawful assembly. All three were released on bail, to be sentenced in August. (SCMP, BBC News)

A Hong Kong court on Aug. 15 sentenced three leaders of the 2014 pro-democracy protests who were convicted on charges related to their occupation of a government building. Joshua Wong and Alex Chow, prominent leaders of the Umbrella Revolution, were convicted of unlawful assembly, while a third activist, Nathan Law, was found to have incited others to join that unlawful assembly. The court sentenced Wong and Law to 80 and 120 hours of community service, respectively. Chow was given a three-week suspended prison sentence. (Jurist)

A new generation of pro-democracy activists has won seats on Hong Kong's Legislative Council (LegCo). The young leaders want greater autonomy and changes to the way Hong Kong is governed by China. Voter turnout reached a record high of 58%. Among those elected is Nathan Law, 23, who helped lead the "Umbrella Protests" in 2014. Despite the gains, China's supporters will continue to hold the majority of seats on the 70-seat council.
Law expressed shock at the result, saying it showed people "wanted change." (BBC News)

A court refused the Hong Kong government's request to block two new legislators from taking office, so pro-China legislators walked out to prevent their swearing in. Those two lawmakers, Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, had been scheduled to be sworn in Oct. 19 after the oaths they took last week were declared invalid. Both had declared allegiance to a "Hong Kong nation" and then replaced the word China with "Shina," apparently considered derogatory. Yau and Leung are the first open advocates for Hong Kong independence to be elected to the legislature. Their party, Youngspiration, was formed after Beijing refused in 2014 to grant Hong Kong greater public participation in the election of its leader, thereby sparking the street protest, known as the Umbrella Movement. (NYT)

A meeting of Hong Kong's Legislative Council was adjourned by LegCo president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen after four security guards were allegedly hurt when they tried to block localist lawmakers Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang from entering a conference room where the lawmaking body had relocated. Leung barred the pair pending a Hong Kong High Court judicial review to determine if they can be sworn in. (SCMP, WSJ)

Leung said he may consult with Beijing authorities over the interpretation of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, to determine if young pro-democracy lawmakers can be sworn in to its legislature. (The Guardian)

Beijing issued a ruling interpreting Hong Kong law to mean any official who does not take the oath properly cannot take office—barring pro-independence Sixtus Leung and Yau Wai-ching, who refused to pledge allegiance to China when being sworn in. Hong Kong's Chief Executive CY Leung said his government will "fully implement" the ruling. The interpretation by the National People's Congress marks Beijing's most far-reaching intervention in Hong Kong since it was handed back by the UK in 1997. (BBC)

Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters clashed with police in Hong Kong. Police used pepper spray as protesters tried to encircle the office of China’s representative in the city. (Reuters)

The Hong Kong High Court on Nov. 30 ruled against two elected pro-independence politicians, blocking them from taking local office. Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung were barred as a result of a political protest launched during their inaugural oaths. The oaths were deemed unfulfilled when the pair pledged their allegiance to the "Hong Kong Nation" as opposed to the People's Republic of China. (Jurist)

Civil servant Carrie Lam on March 26 became Hong Kong's new leader and first female chief executive after defeating former financial secretary John Tsang by a vote of 777-365. The 7.3 million people living in Hong Kong could not participate in the election. Instead, the new leader was chosen by a 1,200-person election committee. Lam is considered a controversial pick, with Tsang being preferred by more Hong Kong citizens and Lam backed by Beijing. China has promised Hong Kong autonomy to govern on local issues, and the election of Lam is seen by some as China's attempt to keep de facto control of Hong Kong. Lam served for five years as the deputy of former leader CY Leung, who was unpopular due to corruption charges and his close ties to China. Critics have accused Lam of being a "CY 2.0", expecting her to follow in Leung's footsteps. The election of Lam could spark further protests calling for democracy in Hong Kong or even a split from China. Lam is currently scheduled to take office on July 1

In February a Hong Kong Court sentenced Donald Tsang, the former chief executive from 2005 to 2012, to 20 months in prison for his failure to disclose personal conflicts of interest when his cabinet was considering a broadcasting license application. In January 5,000 people protested in Hong Kong over elected lawmakers being barred from taking office  after altering the words in their official oaths. (Jurist, March 26)

Police in Hong Kong on April 26 arrested Yau Wai-ching and Sixtus Leung, who were formally barred from taking up their seats on the Legislative Council last year, when the city's courts ruled that their Oct. 12 oaths were invalid because they weren't "solemn and sincere." The duo, both members of the youth group Youngspiration, had vowed allegiance to the "Hong Kong Nation" and carried banners saying "Hong Kong is not China" during their swearing-in ceremonies, while Yau cursed in her reference to China.

They were both taken away from their homes and questioned for several hours over a protest on Nov. 2, when they barged into the LegCo chamber and another conference room, disrupting proceedings, government broadcaster RTHK reported. (RFA)

President Xi Jinping on his visit to Hong Kong just ahead of the July 1 anniversary of the 1997 hand-over of the territory from the UK to China warned: "Any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government... or use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses a red line and is absolutely impermissible."

Nonetheless, tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters joined the annual July 1 march marking the anniversary. Leaders said 60,000 people joined the two-mile march—held every year since 1997—blaming thunderstorms for falling short of the goal of 100,000 demonstrators. Although Xi had already left the territory by then, much anger was directed at his comments.

"Xi doesn’t understand Hong Kong people. The Communist party's solution to the world’s problems is money, because that is all they have," said Martin Lee, a veteran activist and former legislator. "The Communists don’t have core values and principles to stand on, but we cherish our freedoms, civil rights and the rule of law." (The Guardian, July 1)

After the UK and US both issued statements invoking the binding nature of the 1984 treaty terms for the handover, the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded by effectively repudiating the treaty. "Now that Hong Kong has returned to the motherland for 20 years the Sino-British Joint Declaration, as a historical document, no longer has any realistic meaning," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang was quoted by Xinhua. "It also does not have any binding power on how the Chinese central government administers Hong Kong. Britain has no sovereignty, no governing power and no supervising power over Hong Kong. I hope relevant parties will take note of this reality." (SCMP, June 30)

Ominously, during his visit Xi presided over the biggest military parade in Hong Kong since the 1997 turn-over. The runner-up was in 2012 for the 15th anniversary of the handover. Both parades too place at the PLA barracks in the city, not on the public streets, where troops are rarely seen. But in recent years the PLA has been holding unprecedented military drills and war games in the territory. (SCMP, June 30; CNN, June 29)

Hong Kong's high court on July 14 moved to expel four opposition lawmakers from the city's legislature in a case that critics say calls the territory's autonomy into question.

Prominent opposition figure "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, who was sworn in last October, is among the lawmakers ordered removed by the Court of First Instance for modifying the oath of office. He was accused of adding words to his oath and for reciting the oath in a tone that "expressed a doubt on or disrespect of the status of the [People's Republic of China] as a legitimate sovereign of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region," according to the court. Apparently this means speaking the words "People's Republic of China" in a questioning tone of voice.

Nathan Law Kwun-chung, Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu Chung-yim also lost their seats in the legislature. They were also accused of “embedding messages” into their oaths, and turning their swearing-in ceremony into a “theatrical performance.” The case became known locally as the DQ4—Disqualified Four. The removal of the four is a further blow to the divided legislature's "democratic bloc." (NYT, NPR, Jurist, SCMP, SCMP, SCMP, HK Apple)

Three of the most visible leaders of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement have been sentenced to prison for their roles in the protests of 2014. The sentences announced, which range from six to eight months, revise previous, lighter penalties handed down last year and effectively bar the men from holding office for the next five years.

"They can silence protests, remove us from the legislature and lock us up. But they will not win the hearts and minds of Hongkongers," defendant Joshua Wong tweeted. "You can lock up our bodies, but not our minds! We want democracy in Hong Kong. And we will not give up."

Wong,  20, and Nathan Law, 24, had been sentenced last year to community service for breaking into and occupying a space barred from public gatherings. That illegal act, "unlawful assembly," helped spark more than two months of protests against what many Hong Kongers saw as Beijing's encroachment on the semiautonomous city's politics.

Now, Wong and Law have been sentenced to six and eight months in prison, respectively. For his role in the 2014 protests, Alex Chow, whose age has been reported as 26 and 27, initially received a suspended prison sentence, which was revised upward to seven months. They plan to appeal the verdict. (NPR, Aug. 17)

Joshua Wong, now serving his prison term, has just had the first of what is to be a series of columns written from his cell for The Guardian. In this first offering he names his inspirations as Nelson Mandela and Liu Xiaobo. 

A New Year’s Day pro-democracy march by thousands ended in scuffles and a defiant stand-off with police at the newly reopened "Civic Square" protest site outside Hong Kong's government headquarters. The confrontation began when some protesters made their way up to an elevated platform flying the PRC and Hong Kong flags. Security guards tried to chase them off, and one protester had to be carried away on a stretcher. The square, a magnet for demonstrators, had been closed since students stormed it and triggered the Occupy protests of 2014. It was reopened to the public last week, with restricted access.

The main theme of the rally, organized by the Civil Human Rights Front, was opposition to last week's formal endorsement by China's top legislative body of a controversial plan to set up a joint checkpoint at the West Kowloon station of a high-speed rail link that will connect Hong Kong with Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Critics of the "co-location" arrangement fear it will undermine the city’s autonomy by allowing officials from across the border to enforce mainland Chinese laws for the first time on Hong Kong soil—specifically over a zone leased to them at the terminal. (SCMP)

Democracy activists Joshua Wong and Raphael Wong are returning to prison after being convicted of contempt for failing to comply with an injunction to clear the 2014 Umbrella Movement protest site in Mong Kok.

Demosisto’s Joshua Wong was sentenced on Jan. 17 to three months behind bars while League of Social Democrats vice-chair Raphael Wong received a four-and-a-half month sentence. Both requested a stay of execution, so that they can be released pending an appeal. Another activist, Lester Shum, received a one-month sentence, suspended for 12 months, in addition to a HK$10,000 fine.

The sentences came months after Joshua Wong and Raphael Wong were released on bail related to separate cases. They had been jailed over their involvement in a Civic Square Umbrella Movement clash and a New Territories land rights protest. (HKFP)

The government has barred another candidate from running in the March Legislative Council by-election. Localist Ventus Lau submitted his nominations for the the New Territories East constituency. The election officer did not ask him any questions about his application, but Lau said he received an email from an election officer Jan. 31 notifying him of the disqualification.

The election officer cited Lau's past Facebook posts supporting Hong Kong independence in disqualifying him, although—since last month—Lau has said he has given up supporting the notion owing to "political reality." (HKFP)

On Jan. 27, Agnes Chow Ting was notified by an officer of the Electoral Affairs Commission that she would not be allowed to run for the Legislative Council seat left vacant due to the disqualification from Legco of her Demosistō party fellow Nathan Law. (HKFP)

The five-member Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on Feb. 6 unanimously reversed the August 2017 order sentencing the pro-democracy protesters Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, quashing their sentences and setting them free. (Jurist)

Fifth Estate reports on a somewhat euphemistically named "Black Book Fair" held at Hong Kong's Visual Arts Centre in November. Organizer Lenny Catalysta notes participation from the Taiwanese Vagabond Social Arts Troupe, and lively discussion on the questions of autonomy or independence for Hong Kong and Taiwan. Certain measures were apparently taken to avoid attention from the authorities, including billing the event as an "exhibition" rather than a book fair, and prohibiting sales on site. 

Localist Edward Leung has been sentenced to six years behind bars in connection with rioting over the Mong Kok unrest in 2016. Leung and four others faced trial for their involvement in the protests that broke out during Lunar New Year, triggered by authorities’ attempt to clear street hawkers in Mong Kok. (HKFP)

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Sept. 24 announced a ban on the Hong Kong National Party for allegedly advocating "separatism," and the use of "force" in social media posts. Authorities had given the group two months, until Sept 14, to submit arguments against the proposed ban. The deadline was extended three times at the HKNP's request for more time to seek legal advice. On Aug 14, while the ban was pending, HKNP leader Andy Chan Ho-tin publicly advocated "Hong Kong independence" in a talk at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Hong Kong. (China Daily)

Thousands took to the streets in Hong Kong Oct 14 to protest a government plan to build new housing on artificial islands, claiming the "white elephant" project will damage the environment and line the pockets of developers. The governmen''s proposal to reclaim 1,700 hectares of land around Hong Kong's largest outlying island, Lantau, has been touted as a solution to the pressing housing shortage in the city—notorious for being one of the least affordable markets on the planet. (CNA)

Students at the Chinese University of Hong Kong used their graduation ceremony  to protest against the detention of local democracy activists and an incoming law regulating use of the national anthem. Youth from the social sciences department stood up and chanted "We reject political prosecution, release all political prisoners" during the event at the university's Sha Tin campus, attended by about 4,500 students. One banner read "Anthem law today, Article 23 tomorrow." Hong Kong's legislature is considering a bill that imposes harsh fines and a three-year jail term on anyone who distorts or insults the Chinese national anthem. Article 23 refers to the section of Hong Kong's Basic Law calling for the city to enact legislation against treason, sedition and subversion. (SCMP)

Thousands took to the streets of Hong Kong in protest of the decision not to pursue corruption cases against former chief executive Leung Chun-ying. At issue are alleged financial conflicts of interest during his time in office, and over shoddy construction at Hung Hom railway station, according to march organizer Jimmy Sham of the Civil Human Rights Front. Shouting slogans that included calls to prosecute Leung and for incumbent chief executive Carrie Lam to resign, the protesters marched from Causeway bay to government headquarters in Admiralty. (RFA)

Hong Kong Polytechnic University expelled Gerald Ho and suspended former student-union president Lam Wing-hang for one year after they confronted the school management about interfering with the content on the school’s “democracy wall” bulletin board. In September, the student union posted material on the bulletin board to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the Umbrella Movement. PolyU's management ordered the content to be removed, which the union protested. Internal investigations against the students were subsequently launched. (Bloomberg)