The 17-Year-Old Leading Thousands to Protest Communism

An “extremist” … “a threat” … “an infiltrate.”

These are the words Chinese mainland authorities, national security and pro-Beijing newspapers use to describe 17-year-old Joshua Wong.

But to those in favor of freedom, Wong is a hero.

He’s one of the students leading the demonstrations in Hong Kong where millions are gathered making legitimate demands for democracy. The protests were sparked after Beijing officials rejected a proposal that would allow open nominations for a 2017 leadership election last month.

On Sept. 26, Wong and 12 other people were arrested and dragged out of government headquarters. He was bleeding and screaming, and wasn’t released until Sept. 28.

Police have resorted to tear gas, pepper spray and batons to control crowds. The Chinese government is also attempting to block all social media applications.

While today is only the sixth day of the pro-democracy protests, Wong has publicly protested communism since 2011 when he and other students founded a group called “Scholarism.”

In 2012, when Beijing government tried to implement Communist Party-approved education in Hong Kong public schools, Wong called it “brainwashing” in a video by the South China Morning Post. That September, Scholarism organized more than 12,000 people to strike against the program.

Days later, the government stopped the education plan.

According to Quartz, Wong’s “careful analysis of the murky laws that govern the relationship between the mainland and its wealthy capitalist territory is what’s landed [him] at the center of the showdown with the Communist Party. And, for that matter, his role in the protests erupting in Hong Kong’s downtown thoroughfares.”

After his release, the humble, passionate, Wong wrote a message to his Facebook community in response to the many citizens who tell him ‘Hong Kong relies on you’ and call him a hero:

“The hero of the movement is every single Hong Kong citizen.”

For more coverage of Hong Kong, check out this photo essay that takes you straight into the protests.