Joshua Wong should be in school, but for the last 20 days, he has spent more time on the streets and the police precinct than in a classroom.
The 17-year-old with an awkward bowl cut and black-framed glasses has become a household name in Hong Kong for spearheading one of the biggest–and longest—protest campaigns the city has seen.


After 10 days of no visible solution on the horizon, the crowds have dwindled.  But Mr. Wong said he doesn’t believe this means the campaign has lost momentum.
“This is very normal. We are all human beings, not supermen. The key is let the people rest a bit for one or two days and they would come back again,” said Mr. Wong on Wednesday, following the comment with a long yawn.
Sitting in front of his blue tent under a footbridge at Admiralty, the area of government offices that has been the epicenter of the protests, the activist who is functioning on four to six hours of sleep a day, appeared tired yet determined.
“We will not vacate the streets until our demands are met,” he said.

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He said he is confident that many protesters who have gone home are ready to return to the streets whenever called upon.
Wearing a black t-shirt with the word “Scholarism”, the name of the student group he heads, Mr. Wong shrugged off fear of possible future retaliation from the Chinese Communist Party.

Joshua Wong among a cluster of umbrellas in Hong Kong.
Chester Yung/The Wall Street Journal
“Any forms of retaliation will only spark opposition from the people. For example, when the student leaders were arrested two weeks ago, it drew more people to come out to protest,” he said.
To resolve the impasse that has caused major disruptions in parts of the city, talks between the protest leaders and the government are set to start on Friday afternoon.
Mr. Wong said he will take no part in the negotiation. Instead, five leaders of Hong Kong Federation of Students, another key organizer in the campaign, will be sitting across the table with five government officials.
“It doesn’t matter that the government didn’t invite Scholarism because I am not that keen on meeting the officials,” he said. “The Federation of Students will be inside negotiating, while we will stay outside rallying up support.”
Mr. Wong has high hopes that Beijing will eventually allow Hong Kong residents to pick their own local leaders. As for his own future: “I just want to complete my degree,” he said.
– Jenny W. Hsu and Chester Yung. Follow Jenny on Twitter @jen1113 and Follow Chester on Twitter @chester_yung