HK ACTIVIST AGNES CHOW RELEASED FROM PRISON

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow was released from prison on Saturday, June 12, 2021, after serving time for inciting an unauthorized protest in 2019, Kyodo News reported.

Chow, 24, was convicted in December along with fellow activists Joshua Wong and Ivan Lam over their involvement in the June 21, 2019, event in which mostly young protesters besieged the city's police headquarters.

Chow was sentenced to 10 months in prison. Her sentence was shortened due to her good behavior as an inmate, according to a source familiar with the matter. Wong was sentenced to 13.5 months in prison while Lam received seven months.

The protest occurred amid an intensifying anti-government movement that was spurred by a surge of opposition to the Hong Kong government's now-withdrawn plan to allow suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.

Chow's fluent self-taught Japanese language skills and activism via social media have helped her become popular in Japan, where some media have dubbed her the "Goddess of Democracy."

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