Joshua Wong Gets 10 More Years

A Hong Kong court sentenced activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison under the national security law after he pleaded guilty to a foreign-collusion charge, according to Bloomberg.

What happened is narrower, and in some ways starker, than the familiar shorthand around Wong’s name. This was the sentencing phase of a case in which he had already admitted guilt. The Guardian reported High Court Judge William Tam called Wong’s actions “grave in nature” and said the sentence would run concurrently with the remaining term from Wong’s previous national security case.

That concurrency matters. A 10-year sentence is still a 10-year sentence, but the court did not simply tack it on in full after the prison time Wong is already serving. The Guardian said Wong is serving four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion over an unofficial primary election, and that he had been due for release in January 2027.

The foreign-collusion case, as described by The Guardian, centered on allegations that Wong worked with exiled activist Nathan Law to urge foreign powers to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against China. Wong had submitted his guilty plea in September, the paper reported.

Judge Tam said Wong had traveled to the US to seek foreign interference before the law took effect in 2020 and had continued sharing Law’s social media posts calling for sanctions after the law was enacted, according to The Guardian. The judge said Wong helped “arouse the attention of foreign countries to bolster the cause” of exiled activists.

Wong, 30, has been imprisoned since 2020, The Guardian reported, and is now the only activist in Hong Kong to have been prosecuted twice under the national security law. In court, the paper said, he nodded and bowed as supporters waved.