05 October 2016•Update: 07 October 2016
By Arun Saronchai
BANGKOK
A prominent Hong Kong activist was deported from Thailand on Wednesday, hours after arriving in the kingdom to give a speech about his campaign for democracy.
Wong's political party said via its Facebook page that Joshua Wong had been deported and would arrive back in Hong Kong at 3.45 p.m. (0845GMT).
An immigration official, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to talk to media, earlier told Anadolu Agency that Wong was detained shortly after arriving at Suvarnabhumi airport.
"We can confirm that Joshua Wong was barred from entering the country," the official said by phone.
He said he was not allowed to go into details about the detention.
Prior to the deportation, Wong's political party, Demosisto, quoted Netiwit Chotipatpaisal, a Thai student-activist expected to meet Wong in Bangkok, as saying that Thai authorities had earlier received a letter from the Chinese government regarding Wong’s visit.
It added that a request by Chotipatpaisal to visit Wong in custody had been declined.
Wong was due to give a speech later Wednesday at Bangkok's prestigious Chulalongkorn University on the 40th anniversary of a Thai army crackdown on student protesters.
In 2014, the 19-year-old was at the center of mass demonstrations against Chinese influence in Hong Kong which came to be known as the Umbrella Movement
The protests brought parts of the territory to a standstill for nearly three months.
