Joshua Wong Sentenced to 10 More Years in Hong Kong Collusion Case

HONG KONG — Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces, his second conviction under the Beijing-imposed national security law. High Court Judge William Tam called the offence one of a "grave nature", setting a starting point of 13 years before reducing it by three for the timely guilty plea; the charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Wong, 30, who has been in custody since November 2020, was accused of working with self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others between July and November 2020 to ask foreign governments to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against Hong Kong and mainland China. He is already serving a four-year, eight-month term for subversion in the landmark "Hong Kong 47" case and had been due for release in January 2027; the new term will run concurrently, keeping him behind bars until late 2036 unless he receives remission. Hong Kong has seen its once-thriving pro-democracy movement dismantled under the security law, and Wong is the only person in the Hong Kong 47 cohort to be charged twice under it.

Amnesty International condemned the sentence as cruel, saying it was a grim reminder of the city's disdain for human rights. The same law delivered a 20-year sentence to pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in February. For the latest on this and other major global developments, follow our live coverage.