SINGAPORE: Police in Singapore on Friday (Dec 23) confirmed that they are investigating an event involving Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong, following a police report.
The event, organised by Community Action Network Singapore, took place on Nov 26. Local activists Seelan Palay and Kirsten Han were present at the forum, which discussed the role of civil disobedience and democracy in building social movements, according to its Facebook page.
Mr Wong had taken part via Skype, according to event organiser Jolovan Wham.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Mr Wham said the police had contacted him to take a statement on the event.
"So apparently a work permit and a police permit are required for any public talk as long as one of the speakers is a foreigner, even when the said speaker is participating via Skype," Mr Wham wrote. "Needless to say, the permit was not granted, but my co-organiser Rachel Zeng and I went ahead anyway because it was a harmless and straightforward discussion about social movements."
Mr Wham said he was questioned for 45 minutes.
Commenting on the developments, Wong said in a Facebook post that he felt the investigation was "inconceivable". "I merely aired my views via the Internet. What I said about building social movements can also be found online," he said in a post written in Mandarin.
Wong added that he is in touch with his friends in Singapore. "Hong Kong will continue to maintain international links. While promoting democracy in Hong Kong, I hope human rights organisations in East Asia continue to share their experiences and support each other on this long, winding road in promoting democracy and freedom," he added.
Mr Wong was barred from entering Thailand in October after being invited to speak at universities about Hong Kong's pro-democracy Umbrella Movement, and on the establishment of his political party, Demosisto. He was also denied entry into Malaysia in May last year.
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