*STUDENTS FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE*

HONG KONG : A dozen member of the US Congress have nominated Hong Kong's prodemocracy movement and its most prominent-

Student Leader for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, prompting a denunciation from Beijing for  interfering in China's affairs.

In nominating Joshua Wong , 21, and his colleagues Nathan Law, 24 and Alex Chow 27, who led  tens of thousands in the former British Colony's largest pro-democracy protest in 2014-

The Law makers wanted to recognize ''their peaceful efforts to bring political reforms and self-determination to Hong Kong.''

The protests, which the Chinese and Hong Kong governments deemed illegal, were part of popular uprising that posed one of the greatest challenges for Communist Party  rulers in Beijing in decades.

The reference to self-determination was certain to rile authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong. who say the notion is inconsistent with the principle of ''one country, two systems''  under which the financial hub returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

''Hong Kong's pro-democracy advocates  have made significant contributions to peace by actively seeking to safeguard the future of Hong Kong at precisely the time that Beijing has taken steps to undermine-

Hong Kong's long-cherished autonomy,'' four Democrats and eight Republicans, including former  presidential hopeful Marco Rubio, told the Nobel Peace Prize Committee in a letter.

If Wong wins, he would be the second youngest person to receive a Nobel Prize after Pakistan's  Malala Yusufzai, who was 17 when she became a Laureate in 2014.

The winner will be announced in October.

The nominations provoked anger from Beijing's Communist Party rulers who say the city is an inalienable part of China.

In a statement sent to Reuters, China's Foreign Ministry said that Wong and the others involved in the protests had been punished in accordance with the law, labelling the protests they lead as ''illegal from head to toe.''

Wong, who faces two appeals over separate  jail sentences , said he hoped the nomination would give more bargaining power to the city's democratic movement. [Agencies]