Joshua Wong, once the face of Hong Kong's democracy movement, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for colluding with foreign forces under the city's sweeping national security law. Wong is among hundreds of campaigners and ordinary Hongkongers arrested under the law, which was imposed in 2020 following explosive pro-democracy protests against Beijing's growing control. Critics say the far-reaching law has silenced dissent, but authorities argue that it is needed to maintain stability and deny it has weakened the city's cherished autonomy.
Having already spent the last six years in jail, Wong, who was due to be freed in January, will now spend another decade behind bars. Silenced and erased, Hong Kong's decade of protest is now a defiant memory What a defiant mogul's trial says about Hong Kong Wong, who turned 30 last month, has already been imprisoned multiple times for his activism which started when he was a teen. On Thursday, he arrived in court wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, khaki trousers and black-rimmed glasses.
He looked slimmer compared to his previous public appearances. He nodded in greeting towards members of the packed public gallery, and took notes intermittently as the judge read out the reasons for his sentencing. A crowd had gathered outside the court, with dozens of Hongkongers having queued for hours hoping to get a seat in the public gallery.
There was also a heavy police presence. Wong is already serving time for subversion and was due to be freed early next year when he was handed the latest charges, which he has pleaded guilty to earlier in September. Two months and two days of the 10-year term will be served concurrently with his ongoing sentence, the judge said on Thursday.
Prosecutors said that Wong had conspired with other campaigners, including self-exiled activist Nathan Law, to lobby for foreign sanctions and blockades against Beijing. These activities took place between July and late November 2020, the court heard. Wong and Law had been co-founders of Demosisto, a now defunct pro-democracy political party.
Wong's friend and fellow activist Frances Hui, now based in the US, says she is "heartbroken" and "outraged" by the verdict. "Today's sentencing is not just about Joshua. It is part of a broader political crackdown that seeks to rewrite a chapter of Hong Kong's history and erase the contributions of an entire generation who believed they could shape the future of their city," she told the BBC.
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