Eight HK activists charged

HONG KONG: Eight prominent Hong Kong democracy activists were charged on Thursday with taking part in an "illegal assembly" the day after Beijing imposed its broad security law, bolstering an already sweeping crackdown on dissent.

Those charged included veteran activist "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung, the former chief of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party Wu Chi-wai, ex-legislator Eddie Chu and Figo Chan, the organiser of an annual July 1 rally marking the British handover of the city to China in 1997.

Both Chan and Leung chanted slogans inside the court after the charges were read out, an AFP reporter said.