HONG KONG — Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison under the city’s Beijing-imposed National Security Law, drawing sharp condemnation from rights organizations and exiled activists.
The ruling marks Wong’s second conviction under national security legislation, making the 30-year-old campaigner the only figure in the territory to be sentenced twice under the sweeping law. Wong, who has remained behind bars continuously since November 2020, had been serving a four-year-and-eight-month sentence in connection with the 2020 unofficial legislative primary elections.
Handing down the decision at the High Court, Judge William Tam stated that the 10-year term reflected the gravity of the offense and the court’s condemnation of Wong’s actions. The charges centered on allegations of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces between July and November 2020, accusing Wong of coordinating with self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others to lobby international bodies and foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Beijing. Wong had pleaded guilty in September, while affirming that his actions never advocated Hong Kong independence or sought violent regime change.
- Nathan Law, fellow pro-democracy activist and former lawmaker currently residing abroad in exile, issued a public statement condemning the verdict:“It’s incredibly sad to see my friend Joshua Wong suffer another sentencing over his peaceful advocacy work for Hong Kong.”
- Amnesty International released a formal statement through Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks criticizing the timing and severity of the penalty:“The Hong Kong authorities’ persecution of Joshua Wong continues with this latest national security conviction, which cruelly – and perhaps deliberately – comes mere months before he would have been eligible for release under his previous conviction. Today’s sentence is another grim reminder of how Hong Kong’s National Security Law has become a tool to punish dissent rather than to genuinely protect national security.”
As Wong was led out of the courtroom, supporters in the gallery waved and wept, calling out that they would await his eventual release. International human rights groups reiterated calls for governments worldwide to challenge the continued criminalization of peaceful dissent in the financial hub.
