Former Demosisto party secretary-general Joshua Wong was sentenced by Hong Kong’s High Court on Thursday (5 November) to 10 years in jail for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. Wong, who is serving a prison sentence over the Hong Kong pro-democracy camp’s “35-plus” election case, is now not expected to be released until 2036.
The charge stated that between 1 July and 23 November 2020, Wong conspired with former Demosisto chairman Nathan Law, who has fled to the UK, and other unidentified individuals to request foreign or external institutions, organisations and individuals to impose sanctions or a blockade, or take other hostile action, against China’s central government or the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.
Delivering his judgment on Thursday, Tam Yiu-ho, a designated judge under Hong Kong’s national security law, said Hong Kong was facing the severe consequences of social unrest and riots at the time of the offence, with national security and the rule of law at considerable risk.
At this critical juncture, the defendant and his contacts continued to conspire, meeting directly with key or senior foreign officials or external forces and openly calling on them to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against China, Hong Kong and their officials. They also made similar appeals through their own social media accounts and mainstream Western news outlets or organisations.
The judge found that Wong and Law were the masterminds of the conspiracy and could be regarded as its leading advocates. The punishment had to be commensurate with the seriousness of the offence and express abhorrence of the plans and conduct involved, while serving as a deterrent.
Taking into account Wong’s guilty plea and mitigation, the judge reduced the starting sentence by three years to 10 years, the minimum term for an offence “of a grave nature” under Article 29 of the national security law. Two months and two days will run concurrently with his current sentence, meaning he will serve an additional nine years and 10 months. Wong had originally been due for release in January next year. His sentence is now expected to end in November 2036, when he may already be 40.
The judge took an hour and a half to read the full judgment, including a detailed account of the case, with Wong required to stand throughout. Wong occasionally leaned on the railing for support and frowned when he heard the 10-year sentence. Some people in the public gallery hugged and cried after the hearing.
Wong, who turned 30 last month, was a prominent figure in Hong Kong’s 2014 Occupy movement and the 2019 protests against the extradition bill. This is his second sentence for breaching the national security law, and the latest lengthy prison term handed to a prominent pro-democracy figure for collusion with foreign forces since the law took effect. Wong has been imprisoned over various cases since late 2020 and has now spent more than six years behind bars.
A Hong Kong government spokesperson welcomed the ruling, saying Wong’s heavy sentence shattered any illusion that those endangering national security could evade legal accountability under the guise of pursuing an “international front” or “international advocacy”. It also demonstrated to the international community the Hong Kong SAR’s firm resolve to safeguard national security, the spokesperson said.
“This sentence shows that the court determined that the case involved foreign forces and was serious enough to warrant a deterrent sentence. The SAR government will also confiscate property connected with Joshua Wong’s offence in accordance with the law.”
The US Consulate-General in Hong Kong strongly condemned the High Court’s decision to impose the additional prison term and called for Wong’s immediate release.
“Joshua Wong has been unjustly imprisoned since December 2020, demonstrating the extreme lengths Beijing will go to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong,” a spokesperson said.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement the same day expressing strong condemnation and concern over Wong’s sentence. It said the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government should stop suppressing and judicially persecuting pro-democracy figures, and safeguard Hong Kong people’s fundamental human rights and freedom of expression.
Hung Wing-lok, a lecturer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Governance and Policy Science, told Lianhe Zaobao that Wong had a substantial international profile and had previously been unequivocal and active in urging foreign countries to impose sanctions or take other hostile action against the Hong Kong SAR. However, the court had taken into account his early guilty plea and good progress towards rehabilitation in prison, ultimately sentencing him to 10 years. This was “a reasonable decision in terms of both legal principles and sentencing”, Hung said.
From a political perspective, 10 years was a long time, Hung said. It was doubtful whether Hong Kong’s younger generation would still have a keen awareness of Wong a decade from now, and his ability to exert influence would probably be very limited.
Former Hong Kong Apple Daily publisher Cheung Kim-hung and Stand with Hong Kong members Chan Tsz-wah and Andy Li, who served as prosecution witnesses in the Jimmy Lai case, were among prisoners in national security cases reportedly granted early release recently. Hung said this could influence some pro-democracy figures currently in custody, prompting them to change their political stance towards mainland China.
