Artist: Rchoi
Location:
Date Painted: July, 2020
Date Photographed: July, 2020
Photographer: @pratidwandi
Description: portrait of a man (Joshua Wong) under an umbrella
Notes: painted on plywood. from the artist:
Last month, pro-democracy group Demosisto disbanded itself when Beijing passed new national security legislation and set up an office in Hong Kong. Under the new laws, local police were given powers such as warrantless searches and the surveillance of lawyers with vague “reasonable grounds” for suspicion. This week, singing protest songs and forming human chains were banned because of their subversive intent. Teachers were told by the Secretary of Education to avoid “any activities to express their political stance.” Subversive activities are punishable with life imprisonment under the new legislation. (Main source: Hong Kong Free Press.)

Wong wrote on Twitter:

“I hereby declare withdrawing from Demosisto… If my voice will not be heard soon, I hope that the international community will continue to speak up for Hong Kong and step up concrete efforts to defend our last bit of freedom.”

Wong rose to prominence as a teenager during the 2014 Hong Kong protests, the so-called Umbrella Revolution. He is 23 years old. Other founders include 23-year-old Agnes Chow, currently under travel ban; and 26-year-old Nathan Law, who has fled the country.