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

A Hong Kong court on Thursday sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, one of the best-known faces of the city's protest movement, to 10 years in prison. He was convicted of collusion with foreign forces under the national security law (NSL) that Beijing introduced in 2020. The ruling is seen by critics as part of a wider crackdown on the city's opposition figures.

The case

Prosecutors said Wong conspired with other campaigners, including self-exiled activist Nathan Law, between July and late November 2020 to lobby for foreign sanctions and blockades against Beijing. Wong pleaded guilty earlier in September. Two months and two days of the term will run concurrently with his existing sentence.

He was already serving time for subversion and had been due for release early next year when the new charges were brought. Dozens of people queued for hours to get into the public gallery, and police were out in force outside the court.

Reactions

Frances Hui, a fellow activist now based in the US, told the BBC she was "heartbroken" and "outraged", calling the sentence part of a broader political crackdown. Human Rights Watch called the ruling "cruel and unjust". Its Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said the government appears to be stacking charges against influential pro-democracy leaders to keep society subdued and reduce the chance of international outcry.

The harshest sentence under the NSL so far went to former media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was jailed for 20 years, also for colluding with foreign forces.

Path of activism

Wong turned 30 last month. In 2011, aged 14, he co-founded the student group Scholarism, which in 2012 rallied more than 100,000 people against planned mandatory "patriotic education", forcing authorities to back down. By 2014 he was a prominent figure in the "Umbrella Movement". In 2016 he co-founded the party Demosisto with Law and Agnes Chow; it disbanded in 2020. In February 2021 he was among 47 people charged with conspiracy to commit subversion, the largest prosecution under the NSL so far. For that he is serving a 56-month sentence.