Editor's note: The article is based on an interview with Lawrence Ma, executive council chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation. The article reflects the expert's views, and not necessarily those of CGTN.

On August 30, the Hong Kong police confirmed that three prominent Hong Kong activists, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Andy Chan Ho-tin, and Agnes Chow Ting were detained. Both Wong and Chan are charged with inciting other people to participate illegal assemblies, and organizing unauthorized gatherings themselves.

"That means he (Wong) has asked other people to actually come to participate in an unlawful assembly at the police headquarters on June 21, surrounding the police headquarters and throwing stuff inside and causing damages," explained Lawrence Ma, executive council chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation during an interview with CGTN.

Wong was a major player in the violent protest on June 21, where protesters threw bricks and shining lasers to the police station. They also attacked the police with weapons such as bows, arrows, and incendiary bombs.

According to Ma, Wong could face up to five years in prison. In 2017, he was already convicted and jailed for his role in the 2017 Occupy Central movement. Less than a month ago, he was seen having conversation with Julie Eadeh, political unit chief of the U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macao. He admitted after pressure from the media that he met the U.S. official but denied any “collusion.” But perhaps coincidentally, just after the meeting, he threatened to wage a student strike in September via his social media accounts. 

In an earlier interview, Ma already pointed out that now the protest is not about the fugitive bill anymore but rather bears certain similarities with a color revolution. “Hong Kong is the freest and liberal city in China,” said Ma, "So there have been external forces combined with internal forces to conjure up an anti-government force to topple and disfunction the government, so as to deprive the government of legitimate rule." He also emphasized that such strategic "color revolution" actions to paralyze the government are nothing new and can be seen as a way to contain China by these external forces. 

Following Wong’s arrest, although he has been granted bail, there have already been talks of "white terror" by other activists. Ma predicts that this arrest may anger his supporters and could lead to more people coming out and protest. "He is a public figure in Hong Kong; he summons a lot of protesters, but of course, the law is the law. If he breaks it, he has to face imprisonment," Ma added.

Some Western media have already jumped to speculate about the timing of the arrest before the 70th anniversary of the PRC founding and inferred that Beijing would be taking action soon. But the central government has been nothing but calm for the past three months, giving complete trust to the Hong Kong government to handle the protests. Perhaps the reply from the Hong Kong police answers their suspicion: That there are no implications behind the arrest. If someone breaks the law, the police will bring him or her to justice.

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