Joshua Wong: Fighting for Democracy in Hong Kong

Join the IOP as we welcome Joshua Wong, pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, for a conversation on the student-led protest movements that have defined the region’s last several years.

At just seventeen years old, Wong led the student activist group Scholarism in the 2014 Umbrella Movement, fighting for full democratic rule. Since then, he has served as secretary-general of the political group Demosisto, led protests against the proposed extradition law in 2019, and stood for election to the Hong Kong Legislative Council – a race from which he was disqualified before Beijing postponed the election altogether.

Following the national security law imposed on Hong Kong by mainland China this summer, Demosisto has disbanded and dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested. Wong has remained in Hong Kong despite fearing his arrest, stating  that he wishes “to fight until the last minute… keeping the local protest momentum going.”

This discussion will be moderated by IOP Pritzker Fellow James Bennet. Bennet was most recently the editorial page editor of The New York Times. During his four-year tenure, Times Opinion won two Pulitzer Prizes.

If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact Christine Hurley.

UChicago students, faculty, and staff will receive information on how to access the Zoom webinar 60 minutes before the program begins. All other attendees will be directed to our Facebook  livestream.