Hong Kong judge orders Joshua Wong to serve 10-year sentence
The 30-year-old activist will serve the new term alongside his existing prison sentence, reducing his remaining time behind bars to roughly two months.
By Neha Kapoor ·
Joshua Wong will spend the next decade behind bars, according to a ruling delivered in a Hong Kong court on Thursday. The 30-year-old activist received a 10-year prison term for his second conviction under the city's national security law. This sentence runs concurrently with the four-year, eight-month term he is already serving. Because of this overlap, Wong now has approximately two months left to complete his incarceration. He had previously been scheduled for release in January 2027.
Judge William Tam stated that the offense was grave in nature. He rejected arguments that Wong played a limited role in the conspiracy. Tam explained that he initially considered a 13-year sentence as a starting point. He reduced the final term because Wong pleaded guilty in September. The plea was entered after Wong was charged in 2025 with conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security.
The prosecution alleged that Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law agreed to lobby internationally for democratic self-determination around 2016. They claimed the pair called for sanctions and other adverse measures against Hong Kong and China before the security law was introduced. The court noted Wong met with U.S. politicians Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio in 2016 and 2019. After the law took effect, Law and others continued their advocacy abroad while Wong supported the effort from Hong Kong through foreign media and social media.
Wong appeared calm during the sentencing hearing. He thanked supporters before leaving the courtroom. Tiffany Chin, a former member of the disbanded group Scholarism, was seen in tears among the crowd. Resident ET Wong described Joshua Wong as possessing big-picture thinking as a teenager. She stated that she believed he should not have spent a single day in wrongful imprisonment.
Derek Chan, Wong's lawyer, urged the court to impose a sentence that offered his client hope. Chan noted that Wong wishes to care for his parents after his release. Friends reported that Wong kept reading books and exercising during his nearly six years in prison. He also taught himself to play guitar.
Observers view the sentencing as a signal that authorities intend to keep prominent activists in custody. Eric Lai, a research fellow at the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said national security charges can be weaponized to keep specific political prisoners in jail. Beijing considers Wong an anti-China figure who supports Hong Kong independence. Local authorities maintain the security law is essential for stability following the 2019 protests.
Wong's influence remains a point of contention for the pro-Beijing camp. A pro-Beijing newspaper criticized a 2017 Netflix documentary about Wong in September. The report accused the film of beautifying his crimes. The city's security bureau told local media that the government was taking follow-up action. The documentary subsequently reached the top of Netflix's popular chart in Hong Kong.
