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Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years

Summarised from 9 outlets · 12 reports · Updated 5 Nov, 14:25 · Archive

Joshua Wong, 30, a prominent face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces.

Joshua Wong, 30, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison for colluding with foreign forces under Hong Kong's national security law. Wong is the most prominent face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, having risen to prominence as a teenager during the 2014 Umbrella protests.

Wong pleaded guilty in September to the charge. He had been accused of working with fellow activist Nathan Law, who is now in self-imposed exile, to urge foreign powers to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against China and Hong Kong. High Court Judge William Tam described Wong's actions as 'grave in nature' and said Wong had visited the US before the national security law's introduction in 2020 to seek foreign interference. The judge said Wong continued to share posts on social media by Law calling for sanctions after the law was enacted.

Tam said he considered a starting point of 13 years' imprisonment but reduced it to 10 because of Wong's guilty plea and mitigation. The judge described Wong and Law as 'two ring-leaders or masterminds' of a conspiracy to endanger national security. Wong was facing a potential life sentence given the severity of the offence, Tam said.

Wong is already serving a prison term of four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion, imposed in November 2024 for his role in an unofficial primary election. Two months and two days of his new 10-year sentence will run concurrently with this existing term. He had been due to be freed in January 2027 but will now not be released until late 2036. He has already spent nearly six years in detention since November 2020.

In a mitigation letter to the court, Wong expressed hope that he would leave prison in 2027 but said the new charge made him feel he was back at the beginning. Between August and October, Wong wrote letters from Hong Kong's oldest maximum security prison expressing concern about Hong Kong's future and describing his life in prison, including studying law and exchanging books with other inmates.

Wong is the only pro-democracy activist to be prosecuted twice under the national security law. The law was imposed by Beijing in 2020 following explosive pro-democracy protests against China's growing control of the city. Critics say the far-reaching law has silenced dissent, but authorities argue it is needed to maintain stability. Pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was given 20 years under the same legislation in February.

The United States consulate in Hong Kong strongly condemned the additional sentence and called for Wong's immediate release. A heavy police presence was deployed outside the court, and dozens of Hongkongers queued for hours hoping to get a seat in the public gallery for the hearing.

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years
Image: France 24

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In this story: Joshua Wong · Nathan Law · William Tam · Hong Kong · China · United States · Jimmy Lai

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