Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Agnes Chow Ting are escorted in a police vehicle to the Eastern Magistrates’ Court for court appearance in the afternoon of Aug 30, 2019, after they were arrested in the morning on the same day.  (PHOTO / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG - Leading separatists Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Agnes Chow Ting were released on bail after appearing in the Eastern Magistrates' Courts in Hong Kong Friday afternoon to face charges stemming from the besieging of the police headquarters in June.

The trial was adjourned to Nov 18. 

They were granted bail of HK$10,000 each and will have to comply with curfew orders. They were also barred from traveling abroad, except for their respective pre-planned trips.

Wong and Chow, both 22, were arrested for their involvement in besieging the police headquarters in Wan Chai on June 21.

Both face charges of inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly and participating in an unauthorized assembly. Wong faces a third charge of organizing an unauthorized assembly.

Demosisto, the separatist political party of which Wong is a leader and Chow a co-founder, said in a social media post that Wong had been arrested around 7:30 am on his way to the South Horizon metro station in the southern part of Hong Kong. It later announced the arrest of Chow. 

Apart from Wong and Chow, the founder of a banned separatist party, Andy Chan Ho-tin, was also arrested Friday morning.

Hong Kong police said the arrests had been made after an investigation by Organized Crime and Triad Bureau. 

Joshua Wong is facing three charges, while Agnes Chow  and Andy Chan are each facing two charges

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Chan, founder of Hong Kong National Party, banned for its strident “Hong Kong independence” advocacy, was reportedly arrested late Thursday night at the Hong Kong International Airport when he was about to leave for Japan. 

The 29-year-old was charged with rioting and assaulting a police officer.

On Aug 1, Chan, along with 10 more people, was arrested in two separate crackdowns in Fo Tan, New Territories of Hong Kong. They are suspected of possessing offensive weapons and explosives without a licence. Chan’s arrest was believed to be connected to violent protests that have roiled the city since June 9. In this case, he was eventually released on bail and is due to report to police in September. 

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In January 2018, Chow was disqualified by the Electoral Affairs Commission of Hong Kong from standing for election to the city’s legislature, as she was found to have violated the Basic Law. 

On Aug 17, 2017, Hong Kong’s High Court sentenced Wong to six months in prison for storming the government headquarters on Sept 26, 2014. 

On Jan 17, 2018, the city’s High Court sentenced Wong to three months in jail for contempt of court in obstructing a police clearance operation at Mong Kok, Kowloon.

And on Friday, three legislators were arrested. Au Nok Hin was arrested for assaulting a police officer and obstructing or resisting a police officer;  Cheng Chung-tai for conspiracy to cause criminal damage; and Jeremy Tam Man-ho for obstructing or resisting a police officer.