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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Hong Kong’s Joshua Wong denies he’s a separatist

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BERLIN: Prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong denied on Wednesday that he is a separatist, saying he simply wants free elections for the former British colony — a promise enshrined in the 1997 handover agreement between Britain and China.


On a visit to Berlin as he sought to drum up international support for the pro-democracy movement, Wong called on the free world to take concrete action to stand with Hong Kong protesters.


Hong Kong is the new Berlin, he said, alluding to the German capital’s divided past where protesters brought down the Wall separating a communist East and a democratic West.


The Asian financial powerhouse is today the frontline of the fight against Beijing’s rule, the 22-year-old argued.


“Three decades ago, no one expected the Soviet Union would fall. No one predicted the Berlin Wall will fall. With our pressure and determination we just hope to let the world (be) aware that the Hong Kong people deserve democracy. Some brand me as a separatist. But just let me make it clear: Hong Kong is asking for election system reform. We just hope to elect our own government. We just hope to elect the chief executive of Hong Kong,” he told journalists in Berlin.


China has repeatedly warned it will not tolerate any move towards independence for Hong Kong, threatening to crack down hard on any “separatist” groups.


Wong pointed to pledges made in the Hong Kong handover agreement. — AFP


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