Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong receives 10-year sentence

Joshua Wong will spend the next decade in prison after pleading guilty on Thursday to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. The 30-year-old activist received a 10-year sentence, which adds to a four-year and eight-month term he was given in 2024 for a separate national security case involving an unofficial primary election in 2020. Before this latest arrest in June 2025, Wong was scheduled to be released in January 2026.

Wong’s legal troubles mark a sharp contrast to his status as a teenage political star. In 2012, at age 15, he led a group called Scholarism in protests against the introduction of national education in schools. The demonstration drew thousands of people to the government headquarters, where some participants launched hunger strikes. The Hong Kong government eventually dropped its plans for the curriculum change.

Louis Lee, a former member of Scholarism, recalled the intensity of those early years. He said the group members joked that Wong was a merciless boss because he monitored their work closely. Lee still remembers Wong’s phone number from that period. Wong later became a prominent figure in the 2014 Umbrella Movement, a 79-day protest that sought direct elections for the city’s leader. Although he was not a key decision-maker, his speeches energized the crowds. Scholar Chan Kin-man, a movement leader, described Wong as a reflective figure who sometimes acted on his own convictions without informing other leaders in advance.

In 2016, Wong co-founded the political party Demosisto to advocate for self-determination. A Chinese official later stated that self-determination equates to Hong Kong independence. During the 2019 anti-government protests, Wong focused on seeking international support rather than leading street demonstrations. He urged U.S. politicians to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and called for sanctions against China. Beijing criticized these efforts as begging for interference. Demosisto disbanded when the national security law took effect.

Critics of the Hong Kong authorities argue that keeping prominent dissidents like Wong in prison demonstrates their determination to control the political landscape. Beijing, however, views him as an anti-China figure. During his incarceration, Wong has continued his education and personal growth. Lee, who visits him regularly, said Wong reads books, takes university courses, and teaches himself guitar.

Wong has corresponded with former colleagues about his time behind bars. He once asked Chan to send him a copy of Václav Havel’s Letters to Olga. In a letter to Lee, Wong reflected on becoming a better person and son, not just a politician. Chan noted that Wong appears increasingly mature. Lee said Wong’s message to him in 2021 was to remember why he first stepped forward into activism.

In a book about Scholarism, Wong wrote to his future self at age 16. He expressed a belief that participating in social movements allowed him to live a meaningful life. His current sentence ensures he will remain in custody well beyond his original release date, continuing his role as a high-profile figure in Hong Kong’s political history.