Joshua Wong admits instigating sanctions against Beijing, Hong Kong governments

Former Hong Kong opposition figure Joshua Wong has confessed to organizing international sanctions against Beijing and Hong Kong authorities six years ago. Wong, 29, conspired with fugitive ex-lawmaker Nathan Law and others to gain global backing for their push to alter Beijing's national security law and enhance Hong Kong's political autonomy.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy before Judge William Tam, who presided over the trials of anti-government protesters following the 2019 unrest. Wong faces further imprisonment for his role in a separate 2020 unlawful assembly. The High Court heard that Wong, Law, and others aimed for foreign intervention in Hong Kong's affairs as early as 2016.

In 2019, they pushed for the passage of a US bill restricting the export of weapons and crowd control equipment to the city's police. They also sought European countries to include human rights clauses in their trade agreements with Beijing and urged foreign firms to stop collaborating with Hong Kong's police force. Wong and Law disbanded their political group before the national security law's implementation, and Law subsequently fled Hong Kong.

The activist has been in custody since November 2020, with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for collusion with foreign forces.