Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 more years in jail for foreign collusion

Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Thursday for colluding with foreign powers. According to France 24, Wong pleaded guilty in September to seeking foreign sanctions against China and Hong Kong under the national security law. The Guardian reports that Wong is the only activist in Hong Kong prosecuted twice under the law, and that High Court Judge William Tam described his actions as "grave in nature," noting that Wong visited the US to seek foreign interference and shared social media posts by exiled activist Nathan Law.

Wong, who turned 30 last month, has already spent nearly six years in prison and was previously expected to be released in January after serving time for subversion. Free Malaysia Today notes that authorities used the national security law to charge Wong again in June 2025, accusing him of asking foreign entities to impose sanctions. The Guardian states that this new 10-year sentence will run concurrently with the remaining term of his previous offense.

On Thursday, Wong appeared in court wearing a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, khaki trousers, and black-rimmed glasses. BBC World and BBC News noted that he looked slimmer than in previous appearances and took intermittent notes as the judge read the sentencing reasons. Dozens of people queued for hours to attend the hearing, while Free Malaysia Today reported that police were deployed heavily outside the court.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, BBC World, BBC News, Free Malaysia Today, The Guardian — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.