Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years in prison in national security case

Sentence follows guilty plea

A Hong Kong court sentenced Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison on Thursday. He had pleaded guilty in September to foreign collusion, making this his second conviction under the national security law.

High Court Judge William Tam called Wong’s conduct “grave in nature”. Tam said Wong travelled to the United States before the law took effect in 2020 and later shared social media posts by exiled activist Nathan Law urging sanctions. The judge said Wong helped draw overseas attention to the exiled activists’ cause.

Wong’s new sentence will run at the same time as the remainder of his earlier prison term. That earlier sentence was imposed in November 2024 for conspiracy to commit subversion connected to an unofficial primary election.

Role in the alleged campaign

Authorities accused Wong and Law of encouraging foreign powers to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against China. Wong was described by the court as providing support for the campaign and helping attract international attention.

Wong, 30, has been in prison since 2020. He is the only activist in Hong Kong to have been prosecuted twice under the national security law, according to the report.

A prominent protest figure

Wong became widely known as a teenager during Hong Kong’s 2014 pro-democracy demonstrations, also known as the Umbrella protests. The demonstrations brought the city’s financial centre to a standstill and drew many young people into activism.

He was serving a prison sentence for his part in the 2014 demonstrations when protests broke out in 2019 over a proposed extradition bill. After his release, he joined the demonstrations. Wong had been due to leave prison in January 2027 and has spent nearly six years in detention.

Law’s wider impact debated

Beijing introduced the national security law in 2020, saying it was needed to restore stability in Hong Kong. Critics argue that the measure has instead been used to target political opponents, disband civil society organizations and silence independent media.

Wong’s case has become a prominent example of the law’s application to pro-democracy activism. The court’s sentence adds to his existing prison term, though the two terms will overlap.