UK and US condemn 10-year sentence for Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong
Joshua Wong, 30, pleaded guilty to foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law and is the only person prosecuted twice under it.
At a glance
- Joshua Wong, 30, was sentenced to 10 years after pleading guilty to foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law.
- He is the only person prosecuted twice under the law and had already spent six years in detention, due for release in January 2027.
- The UK and US condemned the sentence and called for his release; China warned parties to stop making irresponsible remarks.
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to "foreign collusion" under the city's national security law, prompting condemnation from the UK and the United States.
Wong, 30, is the only person to have been prosecuted twice under the legislation, which critics say has been used to silence political opposition in Hong Kong. He has already spent six years in detention and had been due for release in January 2027 under his previous conviction.
UK and US reaction
A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said Wong's sentence was "a clear example of how the National Security Law is being used to target individuals for political expression and participation". The spokesperson called for an immediate end to "all unjust prosecutions" brought under the law and urged authorities in China and Hong Kong to honour the rights and freedoms guaranteed to the people of Hong Kong under the Sino-British joint declaration of 1984.
The US consulate in Hong Kong said it "strongly condemns" the additional sentence and called for Wong's immediate release. A consular spokesperson said Wong had been "unjustly imprisoned since December 2020", adding that the case showed Beijing would "go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate for fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong".
Shortly after the US statement, China warned "relevant parties" to "stop making irresponsible remarks" about Hong Kong judicial cases.
Human rights groups criticise sentence
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, called the sentence "cruel and unjust" and said it rested on "baseless charges". She said young people promoting social change are "an asset for any vibrant society", but that the Hong Kong government "puts them behind bars".
Sarah Brooks, deputy regional director for Amnesty International, said the sentence was "another grim reminder of how Hong Kong's National Security Law has become a tool to punish dissent rather than to genuinely protect national security". She said the new conviction "cruelly – and perhaps deliberately – comes mere months before he would have been eligible for release under his previous conviction".
Nathan Law, a Hong Kong activist and friend of Wong who was named as a co-conspirator in the case, said it was "incredibly sad" to see his friend sentenced again over peaceful advocacy work for Hong Kong's democracy. He described the sentencing as "a farce" that signified China was "determined to quash any hopes for freedom and democracy on its soil". Wong's supporters have called on governments around the world to push for his release.
Treaty concerns
When the former British colony was handed to China in 1997, it was promised 50 years of "one country two systems", under which the city would keep some autonomy and freedoms. The UK considers Beijing to be in violation of that international treaty after the crackdown on protests in 2019 and 2020 and the sweeping legal reforms that followed.
In the most recent Foreign Office report on Hong Kong, published last month, foreign secretary Ed Miliband said Wong's case "reinforced concerns about the increasingly broad application of national security legislation".
Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith said Wong had "stood up" for the treaty, which he said China had "subsequently trashed", and argued the UK government had done "little to nothing" about it. Labour MP James Naish said Hongkongers in his constituency chose Britain for the freedoms Wong is jailed for defending, and that the government must show China that Britain will not tolerate the sentence.
Source: The Guardian World.
Questions and answers
- Why was Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 years in prison?
- Wong pleaded guilty to "foreign collusion" under Hong Kong's national security law. He is the only person to have been prosecuted twice under that legislation, and had already spent six years in detention.
- How have the UK and US responded to Joshua Wong's sentence?
- The UK Foreign Office called the sentence a clear example of the law being used to target political expression, and the US consulate in Hong Kong said it strongly condemns the sentence and called for his immediate release.
- What is Hong Kong's national security law and why is it criticised?
- It is legislation introduced after the 2019 and 2020 protest crackdown. Critics, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, say it is used to punish dissent and silence political opposition rather than protect national security.
