Pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Nathan Law and Agnes Chow said in the morning today that they have left the Demosisto group they co-founded. The announcement came just hours after Beijing passed new national security legislation for Hong Kong, RTHK reports.
"I announce my resignation as secretary general of Demosisto, and will withdraw from Demosisto," Wong said in a post on Facebook.
“The will of Hong Kong will not be frozen by the national security law or any evil law.”
He said the protests last year have awakened many Hong Kong people, from cleaners to office workers, who stand shoulder to shoulder.
"I believe that there are still many eyes around the world on Hong Kong at the moment," he said.
"I will continue to stay in my home, Hong Kong, until they silence me," he wrote, adding "may glory return to Hong Kong, stay safe everyone."
Meanwhile, Law said that under the new security legislation Hong Kong people will be guilty of having the "wrong thoughts."
“Political figures will be more at risk and it is hard to predict their own safety," he said on Facebook.
Law said that great changes are coming but that “the struggle of Hong Kong people will not stop, and will continue with a more determined defiance.”
Law also said he "will continue to take part in pro-democracy movements in my personal capacity in the future."
"As one of the founding members, this was a very difficult decision, and I will no longer be involved with international outreach work", Chow wrote on her social media account.
Chow also said she will no longer be able to take part in liaising work with other countries in the future after withdrawing from Demosisto.
Earlier this week, Wong said he believed he would be a "prime target" for the new law.
"I will probably be the prime target of the new law. But what makes me fear is not my potential imprisonment, but the gloomy fact that the new law will be a threat over the city’s future and not just my personal life,” Wong told the Reuters News Agency.
Wong recently announced his intention to stand in primaries organised by the pro-democracy camp for September's Legco elections. His post didn't mention whether he still hopes to run in the polls.- Additional reporting The Standard.