The US, UK and eight other countries issued a joint statement calling for an immediate end to “unjust prosecutions” under Hong Kong law after pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison. The Hong Kong government rejected the statement, accusing it of “deliberately distorting facts and making defamatory smears”.
Wong, the former secretary-general of Demosisto who is current serving time over the Hong Kong pro-democracy primaries case, was sentenced by the Hong Kong High Court on Thursday (5 November) to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. Originally due for release in January next year, he is now expected to remain behind bars until November 2036.
Following the ruling, the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand issued a joint statement on Friday (6 November), condemning Wong’s sentence.
The statement said: “These are further examples of how the NSL (national security law) is being used to target individuals for political expression and participation.”
Following major protests against proposed extradition law amendments in Hong Kong, China implemented the Hong Kong national security law in June 2020, seeking to quell the unrest and restore social order in the city.
The statement by the 10 countries said: “We call for an immediate end to all unjust prosecutions of individuals charged under the NSL and urge the authorities in China and Hong Kong to uphold their international commitments and honour the rights and freedoms guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.”
In a statement on Saturday (7 November), the Hong Kong government said the 10 countries’ statement on Wong’s case “disregarded the facts and openly interfered with the special administrative region’s lawful exercise of judicial power and independent adjudication”, and maliciously denigrated the Hong Kong national security law. It strongly urged the countries concerned to immediately cease interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are China’s internal affairs.
A spokesperson said Wong had pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security” under the Hong Kong national security law. He said the Hong Kong court had handed down the sentence independently and impartially, in strict accordance with the law and judicial procedures, based on objective facts and sufficient evidence.
The spokesperson also stressed: “Portraying a criminal ruling made in accordance with the law as targeting ‘political expression’ or ‘political participation’ is entirely an act of political manipulation intended to mislead the public and turn right and wrong on their heads.”
A spokesperson for China’s embassy in the UK also issued a statement on Friday, condemning the UK for “joining a handful of other countries in issuing a so-called joint statement that interferes in Hong Kong’s judiciary and China’s internal affairs”. The spokesperson said China had lodged solemn representations over the matter and urged the UK to stop shielding and glorifying criminals, and to stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs under any pretext.
On the same day, a spokesperson for China’s mission to the EU said in a statement that China firmly opposed the EU’s negative statement on Wong’s case. The spokesperson urged the EU to earnestly respect the rule of law in Hong Kong, stop issuing irresponsible statements on judicial proceedings in the city, and cease interfering in Hong Kong’s judiciary and China’s internal affairs in any form.
