Joshua Wong faces sentencing in Hong Kong

Joshua Wong faces the possibility of life imprisonment when a Hong Kong court hands down his sentence Thursday. The 30-year-old pro-democracy activist pleaded guilty in September to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. This is his second conviction under the Beijing-imposed law that critics say has stifled the city's democracy movement.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. Thursday and is expected to last 30 minutes. Wong is already serving a four-year and eight-month sentence for a separate national security case linked to an unofficial primary for the pro-democracy camp. He entered that plea in 2024 and was expected to be released in January 2027.

Wong rose to fame as a teenager leading protests in 2012 against national education plans. He later became a key figure in the 2014 Umbrella Movement, where demonstrators occupied major roads for 79 days. In 2016, he co-founded the political party Demosisto with fellow activist Nathan Law. The party disbanded when the security law took effect in 2020.

The prosecution alleged that Wong and Law agreed in or around 2016 to conduct international lobbying to achieve democratic self-determination. They called for sanctions and other adverse measures against Hong Kong and China before the security law was enacted. While Law worked from abroad after moving to the U.K., Wong supported these efforts from Hong Kong through foreign media outlets and social media.

Wong’s lawyer, Derek Chan, urged the court to impose a sentence that gives his client some hope. Chan noted that Wong has spent nearly six years in prison and has had a lengthy opportunity to reflect on his path. He said Wong read books and matured substantially in his thinking while behind bars. Chan added that Wong hopes to take care of his parents after being released.

Tiffany Chin, a former member of the now-dissolved group Scholarism, said Wong was mentally prepared for the guilty plea but faced a great deal of psychological pressure. Eric Lai, a research fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law, called the procedure in Wong’s case disturbing. Lai stated that the second case provided a way to keep Wong from public view and weaponize criminal prosecution against political dissent.

The Hong Kong government maintained that its law enforcement actions are based on evidence and strictly in accordance with the law. Officials said the judiciary exercises its power independently and that those charged with a criminal offense will receive a fair trial. A conviction on the collusion charge carries a sentence ranging from three years to life in prison.