10 Nations Condemn Joshua Wong’s 10-Year Security Sentence
Ten governments including the U.S. and U.K. said on Nov. 6 that Hong Kong is using its security law to target political expression after Joshua Wong got 10 years.
Featured photo: the High Court building in Hong Kong (file photo). Photo: LN9267, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong, 30, to 10 more years in prison on Nov. 5, 2026, for conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law, the Associated Press reported via CTV News.
A day later, the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom said the case is a further example of how the law “is being used to target individuals for political expression and participation,” in a joint statement.
The sentence
Judge William Tam said Wong and fellow activist Nathan Law colluded with foreign officials and sought measures against China and Hong Kong, pointing to U.S. sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials, the AP reported. Tam said he started from 13 years and reduced it for Wong’s guilty plea and mitigation.
Wong was already serving four years and eight months from the city’s largest national security case and had been due for release in January, the AP said. He will serve the remaining two months of that term at the same time as the new sentence.
What the governments said
The joint statement, also published by the U.K. Foreign Office, noted that leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance were convicted under the same law months earlier. The 10 governments called for an end to “all unjust prosecutions” under the law and urged China and Hong Kong to honor rights promised in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
Hong Kong authorities argue the security law is crucial for stability after the 2019 protests and say enforcement is evidence-based, the AP reported. In a statement written in prison, Wong said he thought he had acted within the law and later realized his judgment was wrong, according to the AP.
What it means
Analysis: The statement’s 10 signatories match the G7 plus Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand, a familiar coalition on Hong Kong. The court’s reliance on online advocacy and calls for foreign sanctions as evidence of collusion is the part that matters for activists abroad, since Law remains wanted by Hong Kong authorities.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State: Joint Statement on the Conviction of Hong Kong Alliance Leaders and Sentencing of Joshua Wong
- U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Statement on the sentencing of Joshua Wong
- CTV News (AP): Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years in prison
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