Prominent Hong Kong protester Alexandra Wong is to be nominated for a Nobel Prize after she was arrested on Friday over an alleged assault in 2019.
The 64-year-old campaigner, commonly known as “Grandma Wong,” stands accused of assaulting a High Court security guard last January. Her court appearance was delayed after she was hospitalised, according to Stand News.
See also: ‘I miss colonial times’: Hong Kong protest regular Grandma Wong on the city’s uncertain future
Wong was frequently spotted at anti-extradition bill protests last summer where she would wave a large Union Jack. Shortly after she was seen surrounded by riot police outside Tai Koo MTR station last August, Wong went on to face criminal proceedings over the border in Shenzhen, where she lives. She returned to Hong Kong last month having been held in detention for “picking quarrels and provoking troubles” – a charge often used against dissidents.
Wong has frequently been seen at protest sites and outside court since returning to the city.
Nobel nomination
On Saturday, the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hong Kong agreed to nominate Wong for a Nobel Peace Prize. The meeting was chaired by Baroness Natalie Bennett, and attended by members of both Houses of the British Parliament.
Lord Alton of Liverpool, vice-chair of the group, said Wong was fearless and “embodies the bravery, determination and resilience of the Hong Kong protestors that have inspired the world.”
“During her detention she was forced to sing the Chinese national anthem, photographed holding the Chinese flag and had to confess in writing that her activism was wrong. This sort of aggressive behaviour is an all-too-common characteristic of Chinese authorities, determined to trample on dissent and to stamp out any calls for freedom and democracy,” he said in a press release.
UK activist Luke de Pulford tweeted that Wong was “one of the most courageous people in the world.”
“Grandma Wong’s only crime is to demand the fulfilment of the promises made to #HongKong by Beijing AND the UK. And to do it without a shred of fear,” he said.
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