CNA file photo

Taipei, Aug. 17 (CNA) Taiwan's Presidential Office spokesman Sidney Lin (林鶴明) said Thursday Taiwan deeply regrets that a court in Hong Kong found three young democracy activists guilty of "unlawful assembly" and sentenced them to between six and eight months in jail.

Speaking after being informed that the Hong Kong High Court overturned the verdict of a lower court and sentenced Joshua Wong to six months in prison, while giving Nathan Law an eight-month jail term and Alex Chow seven months, Lin said "we feel deep regret for the rulings" and stressed that freedom of speech and assembly, as well as judicial independence, are solemn promises given by the Hong Kong government to residents of the former British colony.

The Hong Kong authorities should take seriously the fact that Hong Kong people want to be able to choose their own way of life and political regime, Lin noted.

Wong, Law and Chow were student leaders during Hong Kong's 79-day Umbrella Revolution in 2014. Wong and Law were originally given community service and Chow received a suspended three-week prison sentence.

Wong is currently chairman of Demosisto, a new political party that grew out of the 2014 protests.

(By Sophia Yeh and Romulo Huang)
Enditem/AW