Hong Kong court adds 10 years to Joshua Wong's jail term under security law
- A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong to 10 more years under the national security law. He had pleaded guilty to conspiring with foreign forces and was due for release in January. The UK, US and other governments criticised the sentence; Beijing defended the court's ruling.
- Wong, 30, was convicted of working with activists including exiled campaigner Nathan Law to push for sanctions on Hong Kong and China in 2020.
- Western governments said the security law is being used against people for political activity; China said the case was handled lawfully.
Joshua Wong, one of the best-known faces of Hong Kong's democracy movement, has been sentenced to 10 more years in prison under the city's national security law. The court ruled on Thursday that the 30-year-old had conspired with foreign forces, and he will now stay behind bars well beyond the release date he had been expecting.
Wong was already in jail, serving a 56-month sentence in an earlier national security case, and had been in custody for about six years. He was due to be freed in January. He pleaded guilty to the new charge in September. The judge, William Tam, said the court needed to show society's abhorrence of his scheme to work with others in dealing with foreign forces.
Prosecutors said he and other activists, including exiled campaigner Nathan Law, sought sanctions and blockades against Beijing between July and late November 2020. The two men had founded the now-disbanded party Demosistō. Wong appeared in court in a dark blue shirt and khaki trousers, and nodded to supporters in a packed gallery as the judge gave his reasons.
Why other governments are reacting
The sentence drew a joint statement on Friday from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The countries said the security law "is being used to target individuals for political expression and participation" and called for an end to what they described as unjust prosecutions under it. They also urged China and Hong Kong to honour rights promised in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Beijing pushed back. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said Wong had no grounds to justify his conduct and had pleaded guilty. China said other countries should respect its sovereignty and Hong Kong's rule of law, and stop interfering in the city's judicial affairs.
Hong Kong's Chief Executive, John Lee, called Wong and Law "primary culprits" in undermining the city's stability, saying their actions harmed national sovereignty and security.
Human Rights Watch called the ruling "cruel and unjust". Its Asia director, Elaine Pearson, said authorities appeared to be stacking charges against influential pro-democracy figures. Frances Hui, an activist now based in the United States, told the BBC she was heartbroken and outraged.
Wong rose to prominence as a teenager, co-founding the student group Scholarism at 14 and becoming one of the best-known faces of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, though he often rejected the "leader" label. The heaviest sentence so far under the security law went to former media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was jailed for 20 years.
What happens next
The diplomatic statement adds pressure on Beijing over Hong Kong, but it does not change the sentence. Wong remains in custody.
