Nathan Law
Nathan Law is a young Hong Kong activist, currently in exile and based in London. During the Umbrella Movement in 2014, Nathan was one of the five representatives who took part in the dialogue with the government, debating political reform. Upholding non-violent civic actions, Nathan, Joshua Wong and other student leaders founded Demosistō in 2016 and ran for the Legislative Council election. Nathan was elected with 50,818 votes in the Hong Kong Island constituency and became the youngest Legislative Councilor in history. Yet his seat was overturned in July 2017 following Beijing’s constitutional reinterpretation, despite international criticism. Nathan was later jailed for his participation in the Umbrella Movement. The persecution sparked global concern over Beijing’s crackdown on human rights and democratic movement in Hong Kong. In 2018, Nathan and his fellow student activists Joshua Wong and Alex Chow are nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by US congressmen and British parliament members. Due to the risk imposed by the draconian National Security Law, Nathan left Hong Kong and continues to speak up for Hong Kong people on the international level. In 2020, he was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME.
Nathan can be found on Twitter at @nathanlawkc.
Additional Resources
- Watch W&J President John C. Knapp talk with Nathan Law as part of the 2020 Symposium on Democracy
- In Dramatic Sweep, Police in Hong Kong Arrest Dozens of Opposition Figures npr.org, January 2021
- Opinion: The World Must do More to fight China’s Crackdown in Hong Kong Washington Post, January 2021
- National Security Law: Hong Kong rounds up 53 Pro-Democracy Activists BBC.com, January 2021
- Exiled Hong Kong Politician Says U.S. “should be very concerned” about mass-arrest of democracy advocates cbsnews.com, January 2021
- Hong Kong Activist Nathan Law Applies for Asylum in Britain The Guardian, December 2020
- Hong Kong Security Law: What is it and is it worrying? BBC, June 2020
- Pro-democracy leader Nathan Law leaves Hong Kong CNN, July 2020
- Hong Kong Activist Nathan Law Explains Pro-Democracy Protests Yale Law School, November 2019
