Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years for collusion

Rights groups have decried the collusion charge against Joshua Wong as a deliberate attempt by authorities to keep him incarcerated.

Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong speaks to reporters at the legislative council building on Nov 28, 2019. (File photo: AP/Kin Cheung)

HONG KONG: One of Hong Kong's best-known democracy activists, Joshua Wong, was sentenced to 10 more years in jail on Thursday (Nov 5) for collusion with foreign powers.

"The court ... imposed a final sentence of 10 years' imprisonment" on Joshua Wong, a press summary released by court said.

Wong, who became internationally renowned during huge protests that convulsed the Chinese territory, has already spent almost six years behind bars and turned 30 last month.

The former student leader was previously expected to be freed in January after serving four years and eight months for "subversion" under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

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But Hong Kong authorities used the same law to charge Wong again in June 2025, accusing him of asking other countries and entities to impose sanctions against the finance hub and China.

Wong pleaded guilty in September.

On Thursday morning, Wong entered the court looking calm in a blue shirt and black glasses, nodding to supporters and scanning the public and reporters.

After the sentencing, Wong thanked and waved at his supporters as he left. They were heard saying: "We'll be waiting for your release."

Dozens of people waited in line for the hearing, while the police deployed heavily outside the court building.

"Beijing has identified Joshua as one of the key leaders of what they see as an open rebellion in 2019 - despite Wong being one of the moderates - and he will be made an example of," Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, told AFP.

His sentencing is set to show Beijing "is keeping a tight rein over Hong Kong and there's no scope for turning back to the more relaxed days before 2019", Tsang added before the sentence was announced.

Rights groups have decried the collusion charge against Wong as a deliberate attempt by authorities to keep him incarcerated.

POLITICAL STAR

Wong rose to prominence during Hong Kong's 2014 protests, known as the Umbrella Movement, and has been in and out of jail since 2017 due to protest-related prosecutions.

Authorities said Wong started international lobbying as early as 2016, when he promoted a Bill - the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act - that would allow the US President to impose sanctions in response to human rights violations in the city.

In 2019, as Hong Kong saw massive and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests, Wong was part of a delegation to the United States to lobby for the Bill, which eventually passed.

The following year, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong to quash dissent, prompting opposition groups to disband and activists to flee the city.

At the time, Wong vowed to "continue to defend my home - Hong Kong - until they silence me".

He was among the dozens of pro-democracy figures who were jailed for "subversion" in 2024, in what was Hong Kong's largest national security trial.

Some of his co-defendants in that case have been released in recent months after completing their sentences.

But Wong stands out as the only person in that cohort to be charged twice under the security law.

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"WORRIED"

Earlier, Wong's lawyer argued for a shorter sentence of three to 10 years, citing time already served.

Louis Lee, a friend of the activist, said Wong remained "energetic" behind bars but was sometimes "worried and nervous" about the sentencing.

During prison visits, the former student leader looked disappointed and would sigh from time to time, Lee recalled.

"There are always so many unknowns," said Lee, who was a member of the now-disbanded Scholarism student group co-founded by Wong.

"But he has to accept this reality, rather than simply continuing to feel down or unhappy because of it."

"It is truly heartbreaking. Such an outstanding young man, who has been exceptional since he was in his youth," said Margaret Chan, a 61-year-old retiree and a long-time supporter of Wong.

"But he will be in his middle age by the time he is released," Chan told AFP.

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