Christian leaders react to Hong Kong protests: 'Christ will stand by us'

The most visible face of Hong Kong’s push for democracy, 22-year-old Joshua Wong, walked free from prison on Monday — and immediately addressed a rally outside Hong Kong’s legislature, vowing to “join to fight against this evil law.”

"Hello world and hello freedom," Wong said on Twitter. "I have just been released from prison. GO HONG KONG!! Withdraw the extradition bill. Carrie Lam step down. Drop all political prosecutions!"

That same day, Wong told Time Magazine he expects to once again be imprisoned for his activism: “[This won’t be] the final time for me to serve a jail sentence,” he said. “I believe the government will prosecute me again, but things can’t defeat me, just make me stronger. At least I hope to prove, to let people to know, that even though I’ve been jailed … I’ve not stepped backwards. I still stand on the front lines with the people in Hong Kong.”

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When asked what he’d like the world to know about the protests, Wong said, “Hong Kong is different to mainland China. We protect our freedoms. We ask for free elections to elect the leader of our city. It’s not the final battle, it’s not the endgame, because the Hong Kong government and Beijing have turned a whole generation of students from citizens to dissidents.”

Wong, who was jailed for his role in the 2014 pro-democracy “Umbrella” protests that blocked major roads for 79 days, is an outspoken Christian who has previously cited his Christian faith as the motivation for his involvement in the protests.

Earlier he told World Magazine: “As Christians, we are not only responsible for preaching the gospel and then waiting to go to heaven when we die. We need to be bringing heaven down to earth. That seems like a totally idealistic dream, but if we want that dream to come true, how should we let people know that as Christians we don’t focus only on trying to increase our salaries and better our careers? We ask, how can we do more for the people around us?”