Photo: Studio Incendo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
A Hong Kong High Court judge on Thursday sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison for conspiring to collude with foreign forces, deepening a jail term that has already kept him behind bars since late 2020.
Wong, who turned 30 last month, pleaded guilty in September to the charge under the Beijing-imposed national security law. Judge William Tam described his conduct as “grave in nature”. Two months and two days of the new term will run concurrently with his existing sentence, meaning he is now expected to remain in custody until late 2036 rather than walk free in January 2027.
What the court found
Prosecutors said Wong had worked with other campaigners, including self-exiled former lawmaker Nathan Law, to lobby foreign governments for sanctions and other hostile measures against Beijing and Hong Kong. The alleged activities spanned a period that included months after the national security law took effect in mid-2020.
Tam said Wong had travelled to the United States before the law came into force to seek foreign pressure, and later helped amplify Law’s social media posts calling for sanctions. His role, the judge said, was to supply “underground support” and draw international attention to their cause.
Wong arrived in court in a dark blue shirt, khaki trousers and black-rimmed glasses, looking thinner than in earlier appearances. He nodded to supporters in a packed gallery and took notes as the judgment was read. Dozens had queued for hours for seats amid a heavy police presence, and international diplomats attended.
Second national security conviction
Wong is already serving four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion over an unofficial opposition primary, a sentence imposed in November 2024 as part of the “Hong Kong 47” case. He has spent nearly six years in detention. Reporting on the case says he is the only activist still in Hong Kong prosecuted twice under the 2020 law. The harshest national security sentence so far is the 20-year term given to media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
Today’s sentencing is not just about Joshua. It is part of a broader political crackdown that seeks to rewrite a chapter of Hong Kong’s history and erase the contributions of an entire generation who believed they could shape the future of their city.
Frances Hui, activist and friend of Wong
Officials defend the ruling; governments condemn it
Chief Executive John Lee said Wong and Law were “among the primary culprits responsible for undermining Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability”. Beijing’s foreign ministry said China “firmly supports” Hong Kong in safeguarding national security and urged other countries to respect China’s sovereignty and the city’s legal system.
The US consulate in Hong Kong said it “strongly condemns” the additional sentence and called for Wong’s immediate release. The UK called the outcome “a clear example” of the national security law being used against political expression. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch described the term as another use of the law to punish dissent.
From teenage protester to long-term prisoner
Wong rose to global prominence as a schoolboy organiser of Scholarism and later as a leading face of the 2014 Umbrella Movement. He co-founded the now-defunct party Demosisto with Law and Agnes Chow, and stayed in Hong Kong after Beijing enacted the security law while Law fled abroad. Authorities say the law restored order after the 2019 protests; critics say it has dismantled opposition politics and independent media. With Thursday’s ruling, one of the movement’s best-known figures faces another decade in prison.
