Illegal assembly: HK activist Anges Chow pleads guilty

Hong Kong's activist Agnes Chow Ting on Monday pleaded guilty to two charges of incitement and taking part in an unlawful assembly outside the police headquarters in June last year.

During the June 21 illegal assembly, radical protesters besieged the Police Headquarters in Wan Chai for around 15 hours opposing the now-withdrawn extradition bill. Chow, 22, was arrested on Aug 30, 2019.

Magistrate Bina Chainrai of the Eastern Magistrates' Courts adjourned the trial and sentencing till Aug 5. The case will move to West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts.

A former co-founder of localist party Demosisto, Chow announced withdrawal from the party on June 30, shortly after the nation's top legislature passed a national security legislation for Hong Kong law which outlaws secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces to endanger national security. The group later disbanded.

Along with Chow, Joshua Wong Chi-fung, 22, and Ivan Lam Long-yin, 25, former secretary-general and chairman of Demosisto respectively, were also charged with incitement for the same illegal assembly. The two pleaded not guilty to the charges. Wong also denied a third charge of organizing the illegal assembly.

A pre-trial review for Wong and Lam's cases has been scheduled for Aug 5 in the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts. All three were released on bail.