Joshua Wong receives 10-year sentence for colluding with foreign forces
The 30-year-old activist will serve the new term concurrently with his existing sentence, leaving roughly two months before his full release.
By Talia Bennett ·
Joshua Wong, a leading figure in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for his second conviction under the city's national security law.
Judge William Tam rejected the defense argument that Wong's role was limited, characterizing the offense as grave. The judge stated he initially considered a 13-year sentence but reduced the term because Wong pleaded guilty to the charge of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security.
Wong is already serving a term of four years and eight months for a separate national security case linked to an unofficial primary election. He entered that guilty plea previously and had been expected to be released in January 2027. The court ruled that the new 10-year sentence will run concurrently with the existing term, meaning Wong has approximately two months left to serve.
The prosecution alleged that Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law agreed around 2016 to lobby international leaders to achieve democratic self-determination. Prosecutors cited meetings with U.S. politicians Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio in 2016 and 2019 as evidence that the pair sought sanctions and other adverse measures against Hong Kong and China. After the security law was enacted, Wong supported these efforts from within Hong Kong by engaging foreign media and social media to draw international attention.
Eric Lai, a research fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, stated that national security charges can be repeatedly used to keep specific political prisoners in jail if the government deems it necessary. Beijing views Wong as an anti-China figure who supports independence, a stance it considers a red line. Hong Kong authorities maintain that the security law is essential for stability following the 2019 protests and that their law enforcement actions were based on evidence.
Wong appeared calm during the hearing and thanked supporters before leaving the courtroom. Tiffany Chin, a former member of the disbanded student group Scholarism, was among the supporters who watched him. Resident ET Wong, who knew Wong as a teenager, said he possessed big-picture thinking that some adults lacked. She stated that in her heart, he should not have spent a single day in wrongful imprisonment.
His lawyer, Derek Chan, urged the court to impose a sentence that gave his client hope, noting that Wong wishes to care for his parents after release. Friends described Wong as maintaining his routine during his nearly six years in prison by reading, exercising, and teaching himself guitar. In September, a pro-Beijing newspaper criticized a 2017 Netflix documentary about Wong for beautifying his actions, prompting the city's security bureau to announce follow-up action. The documentary subsequently rose to the top of Netflix's popular chart in Hong Kong.
