Key facts
- Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to conspiring to seek foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and China.
- The charge is a national security crime under Beijing's National Security Law.
- Wong faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
- He is already serving a four-year, eight-month sentence for subversion.
- The alleged collusion activities took place between July and November 2020.
Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to conspiring to seek foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and China, a national security charge that carries a maximum life sentence. Wong, 29, is already serving a sentence of four years and eight months after being convicted of subversion, another National Security Law violation. Prosecutors accused Wong of working with exiled activist Nathan Law to urge foreign powers to impose sanctions. The court heard Wong visited foreign countries and met politicians to lobby for sanctions, continuing to call for them after the national security law was enacted and posting about meetings on social media. Wong has been imprisoned since November 2020 and has spent nearly six years in detention. His case has drawn condemnation from global rights organizations, with supporters arguing the prosecution relies on advocacy before the law was enacted and that his case is being applied retroactively. Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith urged the UK government to raise Wong’s case with Beijing.