Joshua Wong Receives 10-Year Prison Sentence for Hong Kong National Security Offences

In June 2023, several Hong Kong exiles in Taiwan sang Glory to Hong Kong outside Taipei Main Station. (Screenshot/New Tang Dynasty Television)

[People News] Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Hong Kong High Court on Thursday (November 5) for 'conspiracy to collude with foreign or external forces to endanger national security.' The judge determined that the case constituted a 'serious crime' under the Hong Kong National Security Law, setting a starting point for sentencing at 13 years, which was subsequently reduced to 10 years due to Wong's guilty plea.

Wong is currently serving a sentence related to the pro-democracy '47-person primary election case.' Of the new sentence, only two months and two days will run concurrently with his existing sentence, while the remainder will be served consecutively. He was originally scheduled to complete his sentence for the primary election case in January 2027, but based on the current ruling, he may not be released until around 2036, with the exact date still dependent on calculations and parole arrangements by the Hong Kong Correctional Services.

This calculation indicates that Joshua Wong, born in 1996 and currently 30 years old, will not regain his freedom until he is around 40 years old, even if he is not prosecuted for other cases by the Hong Kong government.

The defence previously contended that the severity of this case is significantly less than that of other national security cases; Wong was only 23 years old at the time of the offence and has already spent nearly 6 years in continuous detention. The prosecution took years to bring charges. The defence proposed a sentence of about 4 and a half years and hoped the court would allow Wong the opportunity to care for his parents in the future, but this was not accepted by the court.

Since November 2020, Joshua Wong has been continuously detained or imprisoned. This marks his second conviction under the Hong Kong National Security Law, and he is the only defendant in the '47-person primary election case' to face prosecution for another national security case.

Taiwan and the international community have criticised the sentencing.

On the same day, the Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council released a statement strongly condemning the Hong Kong authorities for their ongoing infringement of the basic human rights and freedom of speech of Hong Kong residents under the guise of national security. The Council noted that Joshua Wong has been imprisoned for over 2,000 days since late 2020, and that the Hong Kong government is once again imposing severe sentences under the National Security Law, which amounts to a persistent political prosecution of democratic activists.

The Mainland Affairs Council called on both the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to cease their suppression of democratic figures in the name of national security and to immediately release individuals detained for exercising their fundamental rights.

Human Rights Watch criticised the harsh sentencing as being based on baseless national security charges, which allow for Joshua Wong's prolonged imprisonment, and demanded his immediate and unconditional release by the Hong Kong authorities. The organisation believes that the Hong Kong government is systematically piling on charges against influential democratic figures to extend their detention.

Mike McCaul, Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives China-U.S. Strategic Competition Special Committee, referred to Joshua Wong as a "hero" in the struggle against authoritarian regimes, criticising the verdict as indicative of the erosion of judicial independence in Hong Kong, and called for Wong's immediate release.

Wang Dan, a Chinese pro-democracy activist based in the U.S., issued a statement describing the verdict as "extremely shameless" and urged the international community to refocus on the human rights situation in Hong Kong, as well as the circumstances of detainees like Joshua Wong and Jimmy Lai. △