JOSHUA WONG, 24

Wong became an activist in his early teens, successfully getting Hong Kong to drop a pro-China national education programme by rallying a crowd of 120,000 to blockade the city's Parliament.

In 2014, he helped spearhead the Umbrella Movement protests with fellow student leaders. He has been hailed as one of the world's most influential figures by Time, Fortune and Foreign Policy magazines, and was the subject of Netflix documentary Joshua: Teenager Vs Superpower.

During last year's protests, Wong met politicians in Europe and the United States, and called for sanctions against China. This infuriated Beijing and a new national security law imposed by China outlaws pushing for greater autonomy for Hong Kong.

Shortly before the law passed, Wong disbanded his political party Demosisto.

AGNES CHOW, 23

Chow hails from the same generation of Hong Kong democracy activists who cut their teeth in politics as teenagers.

She has described growing up in an apolitical Catholic household. But at the age of 15, she joined the youth-led movement protesting against plans to implement national education in public schools.

She became a major figure of the Umbrella Movement and co-founded Demosisto. By 2018, she was one of the first Demosisto politicians barred from standing for local elections as the party advocated "self-determination".

Chow was also one of the first opposition politicians to be arrested under Beijing's new security law - on a charge of "colluding with foreign forces" - and faces life in jail if prosecuted and convicted.

IVAN LAM, 26

Born to a policeman father, Lam went to the same secondary school as Wong and helped start the campaign against patriotic education.

He has been convicted four times for pro-democracy protests or rallies. He was instrumental in setting up Demosisto and later served as its chairman until the group was disbanded earlier this year.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE