Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday, Nov. 5, for conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the city’s national security law. The sentence was reported by the Associated Press.
Wong had already been serving a 56-month sentence for subversion and had been expected to leave prison in January 2027. The judge said two months and two days of that term would run concurrently with the new sentence, rather than being added on as a separate period.
The case concerns alleged efforts between July and late November 2020 to seek foreign sanctions and other measures against Beijing. Prosecutors said Wong acted with other campaigners, including exiled activist Nathan Law. Wong pleaded guilty to the charge in September, according to RTHK.
Sentence follows guilty plea
Wong and Law co-founded Demosisto, a pro-democracy party that disbanded in 2020, the year Beijing imposed the national security law in Hong Kong. Law left the city and continued his advocacy abroad; Wong remained in Hong Kong and was later convicted in the separate subversion case.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Wong and Law were “among the primary culprits responsible for undermining Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability.” Wong’s friend and fellow activist Frances Hui, now based in the United States, called the sentence “heartbreaking” and “outrageous.”
Human Rights Watch described the ruling as “cruel and unjust.” The organization’s Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said the government appeared to be stacking charges against influential pro-democracy figures to suppress dissent and limit international criticism.
The 10-year term is the harshest sentence reported in Wong’s case. Former media tycoon Jimmy Lai received a 20-year prison sentence for collusion with foreign forces, the longest sentence under the law cited in the reports.
Reid Bentley