Joshua Wong, one of the most recognisable faces of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, was charged with collusion under the National Security Law last year. He was serving a 56-month sentence for subversion. The punishment caps a cascade of prosecutions under the National Security Law that began with his role in the 2019 protests and the landmark Hong Kong 47 subversion case, according to Eurasiareview.
Umbrella Movement to Demosisto
By 2014, Wong was at the forefront of the civil disobedience campaign known as the Umbrella Movement. In 2016, he co-founded the political party Demosisto with Nathan Law and Agnes Chow, who is now in exile. Wong often expressed discomfort at being labelled a protest leader. He told The Financial Times in November 2019 that there were many facilitators in the movement and that instead of a top-down command, there was a bottom-up command hub.
Demosisto disbanded in 2020, the year Beijing introduced the National Security Law in Hong Kong. Law left for the UK to continue his advocacy abroad. Wong stayed and tried to run for a legislative seat. Authorities barred him, citing his opposition to the security law.
Wong Faces Collusion Charges During Imprisonment
On 23 November 2020, Wong pleaded guilty to charges tied to protests outside the Hong Kong police headquarters in 2019. While still imprisoned in February 2021, he was among 47 people charged with conspiracy to commit subversion. That case, the Hong Kong 47, was the largest prosecution under the security law. He was serving a 56-month sentence for that conviction when he was charged with collusion under the same law in 2025.
The National Security Law, enacted on 30 June 2020, criminalises subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. The day before his 2020 guilty plea, Wong wrote on Instagram addressed to the people of Hong Kong. His words reflected a defiant but hopeful stance as legal and political pressures mounted against pro-democracy activists in the city. Each offence carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, according to Eurasiareview.
More on Joshua Wong
Activist Joshua Wong, 30, who became the international face of Hong Kong's democracy movement, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on a charge of collusion with foreign entities under the city's national security law https://t.co/RDnJGCXyt9
Just moments ago, a Hong Kong court sentenced 30-year-old Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison on charges including “colluding with foreign forces.” Under this sentence, Joshua Wong will not be released until November 2036. This is an utterly shameless verdict. For a regime that…
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