Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has been sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison after being found guilty of colluding with foreign entities in violation of the city's national security law (NSL).
High Court Judge William Tam delivered the sentence on Thursday in a packed courtroom, saying the punishment must reflect the gravity of the offence.
"The punishment must fit the gravity of the crime," Tam said. "It is also necessary for the court to express the community's abhorrence of the defendant's scheme and acts with others to collude with foreign forces or external elements to endanger national security."
Wong, who turned 30 last month, has already been imprisoned since 2020. He was already serving a four-year, eight-month sentence for a separate national security conviction related to an unofficial primary election. Before the latest charge was brought, he had been expected to be released in January 2027.
He pleaded guilty to the collusion charge in September. Tam said he had considered 13 years as a starting point but reduced the sentence to 10 years in light of the guilty plea and mitigation. Two months and two days of the new term will be served concurrently with his existing sentence.
Wong was charged in 2025 with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. Prosecutors alleged he had conspired with self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others to lobby foreign governments, bodies, and individuals to impose sanctions or blockades against Beijing and Hong Kong. The activities were said to have taken place between July and late November 2020.
The prosecution pointed to meetings Wong held with US politicians, including Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio, in 2016 and 2019. It alleged that after the NSL was enacted, Wong continued to support lobbying efforts from within Hong Kong through foreign media and social media.
Wong and Law had co-founded Demosisto, a pro-democracy political party that disbanded in 2020, the same year Beijing introduced the NSL. Law subsequently left for the United Kingdom and continued his advocacy abroad. Wong remained in Hong Kong and attempted to run for a seat in the legislature but was barred, with authorities citing his opposition to the NSL as one of the reasons.
Wong first rose to prominence during the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a civil disobedience campaign that made him one of the most recognisable figures in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. He was later convicted on charges related to his role in the 2019 protests, which were initially triggered by plans to allow extradition to mainland China and evolved into a broader pro-democracy movement.
In November 2020, Wong wrote in an Instagram post addressed to "the people of Hong Kong": "To be honest, I have never had much faith in Hong Kong's politics, but I have every confidence in the people of Hong Kong. Even as political power now poses a comprehensive challenge to the resilience of our civil society, I believe the people of Hong Kong will, as always, find a way to see things through."
On Thursday, Wong arrived in court wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, khaki trousers and black-rimmed glasses. He nodded toward members of the public gallery and took notes as the judge read out the reasons for the sentence. He looked calm and thanked his supporters before leaving the court. A crowd had gathered outside, with dozens of people having queued for hours to secure a seat inside.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Wong and Law were "among the primary culprits responsible for undermining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability." Their actions, Lee said, "not only severely undermined national sovereignty, security, and development interests, but also directly prejudiced the well-being of the general public and the stability of society."
Beijing's foreign ministry said China "firmly supports [Hong Kong] in safeguarding national security in accordance with the law" and called on "relevant parties" to "earnestly respect China's sovereignty and Hong Kong's legal system."
International reaction was swift. The United States consulate in Hong Kong said it "strongly condemns" the sentence and called for Wong's "immediate release." A consulate spokesperson said Wong "has been unjustly imprisoned since December 2020, demonstrating that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate for fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong."
Taiwan's top China policy body criticised what it called the "endless political persecution" of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, accusing Beijing and the Hong Kong government of using "authoritarian tools" to "fabricate charges" and "suppress the people's legitimate rights to pursue freedom, democracy, and human rights."
Human Rights Watch Asia Director Elaine Pearson said: "The harsh sentence on baseless charges against Joshua Wong is cruel and unjust. Young people promoting social change are an asset for any vibrant society, but the Hong Kong government puts them behind bars."
Amnesty International called the sentence "another grim reminder of how Hong Kong's National Security Law has become a tool to punish dissent."
Observers say the sentencing reflects the authorities' determination to keep prominent activists imprisoned for as long as possible. "NSL charges can be repeatedly weaponized to keep a specific political prisoner in jail, if the government deems necessary," said Eric Lai, a research fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law.
