Joshua Wong gets 10-year prison sentence in second national security case

Joshua Wong received a 10-year prison sentence on Thursday for his second conviction under Hong Kong's national security law. The 30-year-old activist pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. Judge William Tam determined the offense was of a grave nature during the sentencing hearing in Hong Kong.

Wong is already serving a four-year, eight-month sentence for the city's largest national security case linked to an unofficial primary. He had entered a guilty plea in that earlier case. Prosecutors had expected Wong to be released in January 2027 based on that initial term. The new sentence extends his time behind bars by several years.

Judge Tam stated he initially considered a 13-year sentence before reducing the time because Wong pleaded guilty. The judge rejected the defense argument that Wong's role in the conspiracy was limited. He allowed Wong to serve both prison sentences concurrently. This ruling means Wong has approximately two months remaining on his previous national security conviction before the new term becomes the primary focus of his incarceration.

The case stems from events beginning in or around 2016. Prosecutors alleged that Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law agreed to lobby internationally for democratic self-determination. They accused the pair of calling for sanctions and other adverse measures against Hong Kong and China before the security law was introduced. The prosecution pointed to meetings with U.S. politicians Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio in 2016 and 2019 as evidence of this lobbying effort.

After the law was enacted, the prosecution said Law and others advanced their work abroad through foreign politicians and petition drives. Wong supported these efforts from within Hong Kong using foreign media and social media platforms. The goal was to draw international attention and bolster requests for sanctions or a blockade against China and Hong Kong.

Wong's lawyer, Derek Chan, urged the court to impose a sentence that would give his client hope for the future. Chan noted that Wong wishes to take care of his parents after his release. Friends who spoke during the proceedings described a man who kept reading books and exercising during his nearly six years in prison. They said he also taught himself guitar while maturing in his thinking.

Supporters described Wong as a political star representing a younger generation born in the final years of Hong Kong's British colonial rule. ET Wong, a resident, said that even as a teenager, Joshua Wong possessed big-picture thinking that some adults lacked. She stated that he walked a difficult path for Hong Kong's future, human rights, and the student movement. She added that in her heart, he should not have spent a single day in wrongful imprisonment.

Tiffany Chin, a former member of the now-disbanded group Scholarism which Wong once led, was in tears as Wong left the court. Wong looked calm and thanked his supporters before exiting. Pro-Beijing media recently criticized a 2017 Netflix documentary about Wong for beautifying his crimes. The city's security bureau told local media it was taking follow-up action after the film rose to the top of Netflix's popular chart in Hong Kong.