Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for his second conviction under a Beijing-imposed national security law. Critics view the case as further evidence of the erosion of the city's once-vibrant pro-democracy movement.
Wong was charged in 2025 with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. He pleaded guilty in September to the charge, which carries a potential prison sentence ranging from three years to life imprisonment, though a guilty plea typically leads to a reduced sentence.
The 30-year-old activist is already serving a sentence of four years and eight months for his involvement in another national security case related to an unofficial primary election. Before this latest charge, Wong was expected to be released in January 2027.
Judge William Tam is set to deliver the sentence Thursday morning. Some members of the public began queuing outside the court building as early as Tuesday to secure seats in the public gallery.
Hong Kong's civil society has significantly diminished since a large-scale anti-government movement in 2019. Authorities have since curtailed electoral choices and arrested numerous leading activists. Media outlets critical of the government have ceased operations, and dozens of civil society groups have disbanded.
Observers suggest Wong's sentencing underscores the authorities' intent to keep prominent activists imprisoned for extended periods, thereby further stifling civic activism. Eric Lai, a research fellow at Georgetown Center for Asian Law, stated that national security law charges can be repeatedly used to detain specific political prisoners if deemed necessary by the government.
Beijing considers Wong an anti-China figure advocating for Hong Kong independence, which it regards as crossing a critical boundary. Hong Kong authorities maintain that the national security law is essential for the city's stability following the 2019 protests and assert that law enforcement actions are evidence-based.
Prosecutors allege that Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law conspired around 2016 to lobby internationally for democratic self-determination. They contend that prior to the security law's enactment, the pair advocated for sanctions and other adverse measures against Hong Kong and China, citing Wong's meetings with U.S. politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio in 2016 and 2019. Following the law's implementation, Law and others continued their work abroad, engaging with foreign politicians and launching petition drives. Wong allegedly supported these efforts from Hong Kong through foreign media and social media to draw international attention and encourage sanctions or hostile measures against China and Hong Kong.
Wong's lawyer, Derek Chan, has urged the court to consider a sentence that offers his client hope, noting Wong's desire to care for his parents upon release. Friends have described Wong as having spent his nearly six years in prison reading, exercising, and learning guitar, maturing in his thinking.
Supporters view Wong as a political symbol for a generation born in the final years of British colonial rule before Hong Kong's handover to China in 1997. Despite his incarceration, Wong's influence remains a concern for pro-Beijing factions, as evidenced by a pro-Beijing newspaper's critique of a 2017 Netflix documentary about him, which the government stated it was investigating. The documentary subsequently topped Netflix's popular chart in Hong Kong.