Home · World · Nov 5 archive
Hong Kong Activist Joshua Wong Sentenced to 10 More Years
· Confirmed
In Short: Joshua Wong, a prominent Hong Kong democracy activist, was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison for colluding with foreign entities.
Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison on Thursday, extending his incarceration to a total of 16 years. The 30-year-old, who has been in and out of jail since 2017, was found guilty of colluding with foreign entities in violation of the city’s national security law.
Wong, who rose to prominence during the 2014 Umbrella Movement protests, entered the court looking calm in a blue shirt and black glasses, nodding to supporters. After the sentencing, he thanked and waved to them as he left.
The court initially considered a starting point of 13 years, which was then reduced to 10 years due to Wong's guilty plea. High Court Judge William Tam said the offense was of a “grave nature” under the Beijing-imposed national security law, warranting a minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
Wong’s case has drawn international condemnation. The United States, Britain, and the European Union all criticized the sentencing, with the US State Department saying it showed China would go to extraordinary lengths to silence those advocating for fundamental freedoms.
In his mitigation letter to the court, Wong said his future would not be defined by the past, and that the years he has spent behind bars have been the “most profound lessons” of his life.
The sentencing underscores the authorities’ determination to silence prominent dissidents, critics say. Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, told AFP that Wong’s treatment showed there was “no scope for turning back to the more relaxed days” before the national security law.
The Hong Kong Democracy Council said today’s sentence sought to make Wong’s example of civic courage a warning about the personal cost of speaking out.
Wong’s case has also highlighted the use of authoritarian tools by Beijing and the Hong Kong government to fabricate charges and engage in endless political persecution.
The harsh sentences under the national security law have kept prominent democracy activists behind bars, chilling civic activism in Hong Kong.
What this adds
Wong's sentencing extends his incarceration, which began in 2020, and reflects the ongoing crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong under the national security law.
Background
Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison, extending his incarceration.
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. Situated on China's southern coast just south of Shenzhen, it consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories.
What's confirmed
- Wong was potentially facing a life term but the court decided "an appropriate starting point" to be 13 years, which was then reduced due to his guilty plea.
- Authorities said he started international lobbying as early as 2016, when he promoted a bill that would allow the US president to impose sanctions over rights violations in Hong Kong.
- Some wept and were heard saying: "We'll be waiting for your release." Wong initially rose to prominence during earlier protests in 2014, known as the Umbrella Movement, and has been in and out of jail since 2017.
- Wong, 30, is one of the most globally recognised faces of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and has already spent almost six years behind bars.
- Britain's Foreign Office said Wong's sentencing was "a clear example" of how the national security law was used to "target individuals for political expression and participation", while an EU spokesman deplored the "exceptionally long prison term".
- Wong's treatment showed there was "no scope for turning back to the more relaxed days" before the national security law, Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, told AFP before the sentencing.
- Britain, the European Union, Taiwan and Western human rights groups also condemned the move, while Beijing declared support for Hong Kong "cracking down on acts that endanger national security".
- Wong said in his mitigation letter to the court, seen by AFP, that his future would not be defined by the past, and that the years he has spent behind bars have been the "most profound lessons" of his life.
- With a heavy police presence at the court, Wong entered the dock looking calm in a blue shirt and black glasses, nodding to supporters.
- After the sentencing, Wong thanked and waved to them as he left.
- The US consulate in Hong Kong said the sentencing showed that Beijing "will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate for fundamental freedoms" in the Chinese territory.
- Wong was potentially facing a life term as his offence was deemed to be "of a grave nature", judge William Tam said.
What's still developing
- The UN rights office said in a statement to AFP they were "disturbed by continued imposition of harsh penalties" under the national security law, adding: "The sustained suppression of civic space in Hong Kong is very worrying."
- 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 in his early teens.
- Resident ET Wong said that when Joshua Wong was just teenager, he possessed "big-picture thinking" that some adults might not even have.
- The High Court ruled on Thursday that Wong and fugitive ex-lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung had partly contributed to the imposition of sanctions and adverse measures against mainland and Hong Kong officials which significantly undermined national security.
- He said Wong had visited the US to seek foreign interference before the national security law’s introduction in 2020, and continued to share posts on social media by Law calling for sanctions after it was enacted.