Joshua Wong pleads guilty to foreign collusion in second national security case
The Hong Kong activist faces a potential life sentence for 2020 calls for international sanctions, a move that underscores the expanding scope of Beijing’s legal reach into diplomatic engagement.
Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to a charge of foreign collusion in a second national security case, a development that could see him jailed for life. Wong, 29, entered the plea at the High Court in Admiralty on Wednesday, marking a significant escalation in the legal proceedings against one of the territory’s most prominent pro-democracy figures.
The specific offence relates to Wong’s 2020 efforts to call for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong following the enactment of the national security law. Prosecutors alleged that Wong wrote for newspapers, spoke to media outlets, and met with foreign politicians to urge them to “impose sanctions or blockade, or engage in other hostile activities” against the autonomous territory.
Among the foreign figures prosecutors identified as meeting with Wong were former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The charge carries a standard prison term of three to 10 years, but the penalty can extend to life imprisonment if the court deems the offence to be “of a grave nature.”
Wong is already serving a nearly five-year sentence for subversion and was due for release next year. His legal trajectory has been closely tied to the broader political landscape since he emerged as a key figure during the 2014 Umbrella Movement. That movement served as a catalyst for the 2019 protests, which ultimately led to Beijing’s imposition of the national security law.
The activist also co-founded the pro-democracy party Demosisto in 2016. The party disbanded in 2020 on the same day the national security law was enacted, a timing that has often been cited by critics as evidence of the law’s chilling effect on political organisation.
The judge stated that Wong’s sentence would be decided “as soon as possible” but did not specify a date. Several Western diplomats attended the hearing, observing the proceedings that follow the recent guilty verdicts of activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung for inciting subversion last month.
