Joshua Wong receives 10-year prison sentence in Hong Kong

Joshua Wong will spend the next decade in a Hong Kong prison. On Thursday, a court sentenced the 30-year-old activist to 10 years for his second conviction under the national security law. The charge is conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security.

Wong’s legal troubles began in 2025 when prosecutors filed the charges. In September of this year, he pleaded guilty to the offense. A guilty plea usually reduces a prison term, but the judge determined the crime was serious. Judge William Tam stated that he initially considered a 13-year sentence. He lowered the term because Wong admitted guilt. The judge rejected the argument that Wong’s role in the conspiracy was limited.

Wong is already serving a sentence of four years and eight months. That term comes from the city’s largest national security case, which involved an unofficial primary election. He entered a guilty plea in that earlier case. Prosecutors had expected his release from that first sentence to occur in January 2027. Judge Tam ruled that Wong can serve both sentences at the same time. Because he has only about two months left on the current term, the new 10-year sentence effectively resets his clock.

The prosecution argued that Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law agreed around 2016 to lobby internationally for democratic self-determination. They claimed the pair sought sanctions and other adverse measures against Hong Kong and China. Prosecutors pointed to meetings Wong held with U.S. politicians Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio in 2016 and 2019. After the security law passed, the group continued these efforts abroad. Wong supported these actions from within Hong Kong using foreign media and social media.

Wong’s lawyer, Derek Chan, asked the court for a sentence that left his client some hope. Chan noted that Wong wants to care for his parents after his release. Friends described a man who matured behind bars over nearly six years. They said he kept reading, exercising, and teaching himself guitar.

Supporters gathered outside the court after the verdict. Wong appeared calm and thanked the crowd before leaving. Tiffany Chin, a former member of the disbanded group Scholarism, was in tears. ET Wong, a resident, said she believed Wong should not have spent a single day in wrongful imprisonment. She recalled his big-picture thinking as a teenager.

Beijing views Wong as an anti-China figure who supports independence for Hong Kong. Authorities maintain the security law is essential for the city’s stability following the 2019 protests. A pro-Beijing newspaper recently criticized a 2017 Netflix documentary about Wong. The city’s security bureau said it was taking follow-up action on the film. The documentary moved to the top of Netflix’s popular chart in Hong Kong in September.