Joshua Wong, the university student who became the face of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, has been nominated along with other local activists for the Nobel Peace Prize by a group of U.S. lawmakers, a move that drew a rebuke from China.

Joshua Wong, the university student who became the face of Hong Kong’s democracy movement, has been nominated along with other local activists for the Nobel Peace Prize by a group of U.S. lawmakers, a move that drew a rebuke from China.

The 12 politicians, led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) and Rep. Christopher Smith (R., N.J.), wrote in a letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee that the entire pro-democracy movement should receive the honor “in recognition of their peaceful efforts to bring political reform” to Hong Kong, where many have decried Beijing’s increasing control.

The nomination angered the Chinese government, which has insisted that Hong Kong’s affairs are a domestic matter because the former British colony is a special administrative region of China.

An August demonstration in central Hong Kong protested the jailing of student leaders Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow, imprisoned for their participation in the so-called Umbrella Movement. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu Photo: TYRONE SIU/REUTERS

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing in a statement Friday urged the U.S. lawmakers to “stop meddling” in Hong Kong and China’s internal affairs, saying the 2014 protests were “downright illegal,” according to the Associated Press.

The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Nov. 1 urging Beijing to stick to the “one country, two systems” agreement, made before Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, that affords the city a high degree of autonomy and its residents greater liberties than those on the mainland.

Sen. Rubio and Rep. Smith are the chair and co-chair, respectively, of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

Mr. Wong and fellow activists Nathan Law and Alex Chow led pro-democracy protests in 2014 that became known as the Umbrella Movement. Tens of thousands of demonstrators, seeking freer elections without Beijing’s interference, blocked highways for three months—but ultimately failed to extract democratic concessions from the Chinese government.

The movement is credited with birthing a new political class in the Asian financial hub, including the political party Demosisto, which Messrs. Wong and Law founded with others.

Their efforts have faced setbacks in recent months. Mr. Wong, who is 21 years old, was jailed for his role in the protests—and in a separate case for contempt of court—with the sentence length rendering him ineligible for office for five years. He is appealing both sentences.

Mr. Law was disqualified after being elected a lawmaker due to a dispute about his oath when taking office. Another candidate the party fielded was barred last week from running for office because the government determined she didn’t adhere to an ordinance that requires candidates to view Hong Kong as an inalienable part of China.

In their letter to the Nobel committee, the U.S. politicians commended Mr. Wong and his colleagues for fighting for democracy amid “tremendous opposition from the Chinese Communist Party.” They said the three “embody the peaceful aspirations of the people of Hong Kong who yearn to see their autonomies and way of life protected and their democratic aspirations fulfilled.

“Countless others around the world, including in mainland China, aspire to the same ideals but their voices are silenced and their protests forbidden,” the letter went on.

Only certain individuals can make nominations to the Nobel Peace Prize committee, including members of national governments, university professors of history, law and philosophy, and former winners of the prize, according to its website. Nominations aren’t typically made public, and Laureates are chosen in October.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been a lightning rod in China in the past. In 2010, the award was given to Chinese scholar Liu Xiaobo, who had been in custody since late 2008 for his role in drafting and promoting a manifesto calling for peaceful political change.

The award—which was handed to an empty chair, as Mr. Liu was in detention—infuriated Chinese authorities. Although the Norwegian Nobel Committee is independent, Beijing blasted Norway’s government and curtailed imports of Norwegian salmon.

This article was written by WSJ reporter Natasha Kahn. It was originally published on Feb. 2, 2018 and can be found here:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-lawmakers-nominate-face-of-hong-kong-protests-for-nobel-prize-1517497203