BREAKING: Jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong pleads guilty to foreign collusion charge

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong has admitted to conspiring with foreign entities, marking his second conviction under the Beijing-imposed national security law. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty at the High Court on Wednesday for the foreign collusion charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Wong is currently incarcerated for a four-year-and-eight-month term in connection with a separate case known as the "Hong Kong 47."

Accused of seeking foreign sanctions, blocking or hostile actions against Hong Kong or China in 2020, Wong's alleged actions were conducted through an "international front" following the 2019 protests. He reportedly lobbied for sanctions against Hong Kong or China, urged the US to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in 2019, and sought support from Western countries in imposing Magnitsky-style sanctions.

Despite the Beijing-imposed national security law, Wong continued his international lobbying efforts until its implementation in June 2020.

The offence for which Wong pleaded guilty could extend his prison sentence. Arrested in June 2023, he has been in custody since November 2020. Prosecutors claim that Wong, along with fellow activist Nathan Law, requested foreign sanctions through an international front in the wake of the 2019 protests. Law remains at large, wanted by Hong Kong's national security police with a HK$1 million reward for his arrest.