Hong Kong Christian student activist Joshua Wong acquitted

Joshua Wong, one of the student leaders for Hong Kong's pro-democracy Umbrella Movement in 2014, avoided jail sentence after a court found him guilty of unlawful assembly.

The Eastern Magistrates' Court did not sentence the 19-year-old Christian activist on Monday of five years imprisonment, but instead, handed him a punishment of doing 80 hours community service, according to the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP).

Wong confirmed on social media the court's sentence as well as his continued commitment to the cause.

"I will not regret for my commitment in the Umbrella Movement," Wong tweeted.

He also admitted during a live Facebook broadcast Sunday evening that he, along with other members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism (HKFS), planned their forced entry at the Civic Square and "knew what was going to happen before taking action."

"We were prepared to bear legal consequences after participating in civil resistance," HKFP quoted Wong as saying.

He also claimed he's been passing around pamphlets for the Legislative Council elections on Sept. 4. Wong and 23-year-old Nathan Law, who headed HKFP with 25-year-old Alex Chow, formed the political party Demosisto.

The court also sentenced Law with 120 hours of community service for the unlawful assembly while Chow received a three-week sentence and a one-year suspension for incitement.

The student leaders mobilized thousands to a peaceful sit-in on Sept. 26, 2014 that lasted for 79 days to protest the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress's motion ruling to screen out presidential candidates. This allowed China to interfere in the nation's universal suffrage.

Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, condemned Hong Kong as one that "increasingly resembles that of their counterparts in Beijing" and that the prosecution for the student leaders of "should unnerve anyone who cares about the fate of basic rights in Hong Kong."

Wong pointed to his Christian faith in his ongoing fight for political justice.

"The Bible teaches us that we need to fight for justice, and Christians bear the responsibility to be salt and light in society," Wong told Christian Today. "We have more obligation and a more important role in the world other than being just a normal citizen in society who wants to earn money."