A Hong Kong student activist pleaded guilty to charges of secession under the Beijing-imposed national security law, as well as a count of money laundering at trial on Nov. 3. The 20-year-old Tony Chung was denied bail after he was arrested in October last year. Local media reported at the time he was taken away along with two others from a coffee shop close to the U.S. consulate by unidentified men, and was believed to be preparing for an asylum application. Chung, the former leader of the now-disbanded pro-independence Studentlocalism, faced four charges at the District Court on Wednesday. He pleaded not guilty to two accusations—conspiracy to publish seditious materials and a count of money laundering—but admitted guilt on two others. “I plead guilty, and I have a clear conscience,” Chung said, after being asked about the charge of secession. The national security judge Stanley Chan interrupted him soon after, …