HONG KONG COURT SENTENCES JOSHUA WONG TO 10 MORE YEARS IN PRISON

A Hong Kong court sentenced democracy activist Joshua Wong to 10 more years in prison on Thursday under the national security law imposed by Beijing. Wong pleaded guilty earlier this year to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, following a charge brought in 2025. Judge William Tam described Wong’s offence as grave and called him a mastermind of the conspiracy. Tam said he reduced the sentence from a starting point of 13 years because of Wong’s guilty plea and mitigation.

Wong already serves a four-year, eight-month sentence in a separate national security case concerning an unofficial primary. The latest sentence marks the second time a court has penalised him under Hong Kong’s national security law. He has spent almost six years behind bars. Before the latest prosecution, Wong had expected to leave prison in January 2027; his release is now due in late 2036.

Tam said Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law continued to conspire to contact foreign government officials, institutions and other external parties. The judge said they sought interference against China and Hong Kong. He cited the United States’ withdrawal of Hong Kong’s special treatment and sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials as measures the pair had sought. “The punishment must fit the gravity of the crime committed,” Tam wrote, adding that the sentence must serve general deterrence.