Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years in prison under Hong Kong's national security law

The key facts

Joshua Wong received 10 years for colluding with foreign forces; the term is partially concurrent with his current sentence
Joshua Wong received 10 years for collusion with foreign forces; the term is partly concurrent with his current sentence
Release, expected in January, has been postponed until the end of 2036
Release, which had been expected in January, is postponed until the end of 2036
The US, Taiwan and Human Rights Watch condemned the verdict; Beijing and Hong Kong authorities supported it

The verdict and its logic

On November 5, 2026, a Hong Kong court sentenced 30-year-old activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison on charges of colluding with foreign forces under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. Wong, already serving a nearly five-year sentence for “subversive activities,” pleaded guilty in the new case in September 2026. According to AFP, Judge William Tam found the crime to be of “an especially grave nature” and it could have been punishable by life imprisonment, but he took 13 years as the starting point, reducing the term to 10 years for the guilty plea. Two months and two days of the new sentence are credited toward the current punishment, the BBC reports.

What the activist is accused of

The charges related to a campaign for foreign sanctions against Beijing and Hong Kong between July and the end of November 2020. The prosecution argued that Wong, together with exiled former legislator Nathan Law and other activists, lobbied for sanctions and blockades; the court called them “the two ringleaders or organizers” of a conspiracy against national security. Judge Tam, according to Anadolu, noted that the activists “used connections with high-ranking foreign officials and institutions” to push for foreign interference through social media and Western media outlets. The authorities also stated that Wong's international lobbying began as early as 2016 with his promotion of the US Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, for which he traveled to an American delegation in 2019.

The practical outcome: ten more years

The key change for Wong himself: he had expected release in January 2027 after serving a sentence of 4 years and 8 months for “subversive activities” — the largest national security case in Hong Kong's history, known as the “Hong Kong 47.” Now, according to AFP and Anadolu, citing the South China Morning Post, his expected release has been pushed back to the end of 2036. In a mitigation letter seen by AFP, Wong wrote that he had hoped to be released in 2027, but the new charge made him feel he was back at square one, and the years in custody had become “the deepest lessons” of his life.

Reactions from the parties

The verdict drew a polarized response. The United States said it demonstrates China's readiness “to go to extraordinary lengths to silence those advocating for fundamental freedoms”; Taiwan spoke of “endless political persecution,” and Human Rights Watch called the verdict “cruel and unjust,” calling for targeted sanctions against the officials responsible. Nathan Law called the additional sentence “a farce.” On the other hand, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Wong had shown “complete disregard for the law,” the head of the police national security department, Steve Li, welcomed the verdict, and Beijing expressed support for “the fight against actions threatening national security.” Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute, in a comment to AFP assessed Wong's fate as evidence that Beijing “keeps Hong Kong in check” and that there is no return to the freer times before 2019.

Context: record sentences under the national security law

Wong's verdict is his second sentence under the national security law and one of the harshest under this legislation. The heaviest punishment to date has gone to media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-shut newspaper Apple Daily, who was sentenced in February to 20 years, also for colluding with foreign forces. Wong rose to prominence at 14 as a co-founder of the group Scholarism, took part in the 2014 “Umbrella Movement,” and in 2016, together with Law and Agnes Chow, founded the party Demosisto, which dissolved after the law was introduced in 2020. Outside the courthouse on the day of the announcement, an increased police presence was on duty, dozens of people stood in line for seats in the courtroom, and after the verdict supporters saw Wong off in tears, with the words “We will wait for your release.”