Student organizer in Hong Kong found guilty of secession

A student organizer who was the leader of a pro-independence group was found guilty of secession in Hong Kong on Wednesday.

Tony Chung, the former leader of Studentlocalism, was found guilty on one charge of succession and one charge of money laundering after entering a plea bargain with the prosecution, Reuters reported. 

In exchange, another money laundering charge and a sedition charge were dropped. 

Chung’s home was raided with pro-independence books and t-shirts taken away. Prosecutors say he ran Facebook pages for the Initiative Independence Party and the U.S. side of Studentlocalism.

The money laundering charge came from PayPal donations he received, according to Reuters. 

The judge said Chung’s sentencing will be announced on Nov. 23.

The session charge fell under the city’s national security law that has been used to silence pro-democracy voices. 

The national security law, which was passed in 2020, caused many pro-democracy and pro-independence groups, including Studentlocalism, to disband. 

Amnesty International recently announced it will be leaving its Hong Kong offices due to fear of legal retaliation under the national security law that makes it “effectively impossible” to do their work.