Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years in Hong Kong national security case

According to the Associated Press, Hong Kong's high court gave democracy activist Joshua Wong a 10-year jail term on November 5 following his admission that he had conspired to work with foreign forces. Wong, 30, was already imprisoned under the city's national security law.⁴⁵³

Sentence and existing imprisonment

Judge William Tam used 13 years as the initial basis for the sentence, then lowered it to account for Wong's guilty plea and mitigating circumstances, AP reported. Tam described the offence as “grave in nature”, according to the Guardian. NPR reported that the judge also rejected the idea that Wong had played only a limited role.⁴³²

The Guardian reported that the new term would run concurrently with the remainder of Wong's previous national security sentence. The BBC specified that the overlap would be two months and two days. His earlier sentence was four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion, according to both outlets.¹³

Wong had spent almost six years in detention and had been scheduled for release in January 2027, the Guardian reported. NPR described the latest case as his second conviction under the national security law and said he was charged in 2025 before pleading guilty in September.³²

The case against Wong

Prosecutors said Wong conspired with other campaigners, including Nathan Law, to seek foreign sanctions and blockades against Beijing, according to the BBC. The Guardian reported that the accusation involved urging foreign powers to take sanctions, blockade measures or other hostile action against China.¹³

NPR reported that the case concerned an alleged agreement between Wong and Law to lobby internationally for democratic self-determination. It also described Wong's support through overseas media and social media for efforts to secure sanctions or other measures against Hong Kong and China.²

Activism and responses

Wong's activism began as a teenager. According to the BBC, he co-founded the student group Scholarism at 14 and later established Demosisto with Law and Agnes Chow in 2016. According to the Guardian, his role in the Umbrella protests of 2014 brought him worldwide prominence.¹³

Human Rights Watch criticised the ruling. Its Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said the Hong Kong government appeared to be bringing successive charges against influential democracy campaigners to keep society subdued and limit international criticism, according to the BBC.¹

Hong Kong authorities said the security law was necessary for the city's stability and that enforcement decisions rested on evidence, NPR reported. The Guardian reported that critics view the law as a means of suppressing political opposition, civil society organisations and independent media.²³