Joshua Wong jailed for 10 more years in Hong Kong national security case

Joshua Wong, one of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy activists, was sentenced on Thursday to 10 years in prison. According to the BBC, the term was imposed for colluding with foreign forces under the city’s national security law. The Guardian reported that the sentence followed Wong’s guilty plea to a charge of foreign collusion, which he entered in September.

The court ruled that two months and two days of the new term will run alongside the sentence he is already serving. CNA reported that the court described the outcome as a final sentence of 10 years. Wong, who turned 30 last month, has spent close to six years in custody.

Charges and earlier conviction

Wong was already serving four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion. That sentence was imposed in November 2024 over his role in an unofficial primary election. He had been expected to walk free in January 2027.

Authorities brought the new charges in June 2025, according to CNA. Prosecutors alleged that Wong pressed foreign governments toward sanctions and blockades against Beijing, working alongside other campaigners including Nathan Law, who lives in self-exile. According to the court, the alleged acts happened from July through late November of 2020.

Wong and Law had co-founded Demosisto, a pro-democracy party that no longer operates. Judge William Tam described the actions as grave in nature. He said Wong had travelled to the United States before the law took effect, and had kept sharing posts from Law calling for sanctions after it was introduced.

Reactions from rights groups and observers

Frances Hui, a friend and fellow activist who is now based in the US, told the BBC she felt heartbroken and outraged. She described the case as part of a wider effort to rewrite recent history and erase the role of a generation of young people.

Human Rights Watch called the ruling cruel and unjust. Its Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said the government appeared to be stacking charges against influential pro-democracy leaders. In her view, this approach aims to keep society subdued and reduce the chance of an international backlash.

Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London, told AFP that Beijing had identified Wong as a key figure in the 2019 protests and would make an example of him. He added that the sentence showed there was little room for a return to the looser atmosphere seen before 2019.

Background to the national security law

Wong first gained global attention during the 2014 Umbrella Movement and has been jailed several times since 2017. Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, after large and sometimes violent protests in 2019. Hundreds of campaigners and ordinary residents have been arrested under it.

Authorities argue the law restores stability and that the city’s autonomy remains intact. Critics say it has silenced dissent, dissolved opposition groups and pressured independent media. Crowds gathered outside the court on Thursday, and police maintained a heavy presence around the building.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• BBC News: Joshua Wong, face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests, jailed for 10 years
• The Guardian: Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years in prison in national security case
• CNA: Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years for collusion

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