Pro-democracy advocate Joshua Wong has admitted guilt on Wednesday to a charge of collaborating with foreign forces to jeopardize national security in Hong Kong under a law imposed by Beijing. This law effectively suppressed the city’s once-vibrant pro-democracy movement.
This marks the second legal action against Wong, a former student leader in the pro-democracy movement and a prominent figure in it, under the national security law introduced in Hong Kong in 2020. This law was implemented to suppress the massive anti-government protests that shook the city the previous year.
Appearing in court wearing a blue shirt, Wong looked visibly thinner as he entered his plea. Before the court session, a supporter encouraged him with words of support. Wong’s friend, Louis Lee, mentioned that Wong has been passing his time in prison by reading, studying, learning to play the guitar, and exercising. Lee expressed hope to see Wong released from prison soon.
Wong is awaiting sentencing, with the offense carrying a possible prison term of three to 10 years, or even life imprisonment if deemed “of a grave nature.” Typically, pleading guilty may lead to a reduced sentence. He was already serving a sentence of four years and eight months after pleading guilty in a separate national security case related to an unofficial political primary.
Critics argue that Wong’s case illustrates authorities’ efforts to silence prominent dissenters, which has had a chilling effect on civic activism. However, Beijing views Wong as an anti-China figure supporting Hong Kong independence, a stance crossing a red line for the authorities.
Wong, aged 29, faced accusations of conspiring with fellow activist Nathan Law and others to solicit foreign entities to impose sanctions or hostile actions against Hong Kong or China between July 1 and November 23, 2020. His activism gained attention in 2012 when he led protests against national education in Hong Kong schools as a high school student. He further rose to prominence as a student leader during the 2014 Occupy Movement.
In 2016, Wong co-established the political party “Demosisto” with young activists, including Law, who became the city’s youngest legislator that same year. As the leaderless 2019 protests unfolded, Wong sought international backing for the democracy movement, drawing criticism from Beijing for allegedly seeking foreign interference.
Following the imposition of the security law in 2020, Demosisto disbanded. Several other key activists, such as former media magnate Jimmy Lai, were also imprisoned under the law. Some activists chose to flee to democratic nations like the U.S. and the U.K. Hong Kong authorities separately offered rewards for information leading to the arrests of Law, now residing in the U.K., and other activists based overseas.