Hong Kong has been plagued by weeks of public unrest since June. As some young Hong Kongers dropped class and took to the streets to protest, their student leader has been planning something else. 

(Photo: CCTV)

Nathan Law Kwun-chung, a protest leader, wrote on Facebook on Aug. 14 (EST) that he's arrived in New York and expects to start school in Yale.

The post has also been called into question among Chinese netizens: how did Nathan travel to the US, a 15-hour flight from Hong Kong, when Hong Kong's international airport canceled more than 300 flights on Tuesday due to protesters' riots?

"He is going to Yale. And you are going to jail." This satirical comment immediately went viral online.

On Aug. 6, several protest organizers including Nathan were caught secretly meeting with Julie Eadeh, political unit chief of the US Consulate General in Hong Kong.

Born in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, Nathan moved to Hong Kong with his family at six. But he has been a separationist as early as the Occupy Central campaign in 2014. 

From June to September of that year, Nathan burned the“one country two systems”white book issued by the State Council during a demonstration against the Hong Kong Liason Office and led a students' strike. 

Nathan is not the only one to take advantage of his leadership role in instigating divisive activities. Alex Chow Yong-kang, one of the main organizers of the Occupy Central campaign, was admitted by the London School of Economics as a master's student in 2016. Two years later, he began his doctoral studies at the University of California, Berkley. 

On his Facebook and Twitter account, Nathan called for support for the upcoming protests in Hong Kong. Radical protesters may have to think about this: does their fight make Hong Kong a more prosperous place or are they just doing it for personal gain?