Hong Kong Activist Joshua Wong Receives Extended Prison Sentence
(MENAFN) A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung to 10 years in prison on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to collude with “foreign forces.”
Wong, who is already serving a prison term for conspiracy to commit subversion, entered his guilty plea in the separate national security case in September.
The conviction concerned his involvement in an international campaign seeking sanctions against mainland China and Hong Kong following the 2019 anti-government protests, according to reports.
Prosecutors found that Wong had conspired with fugitive former lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung and other activists to “collude with foreign forces” after Beijing introduced Hong Kong’s national security law on June 30, 2020.
The newly imposed sentence will run concurrently with Wong’s existing prison term, which is due to expire on Jan. 7. His expected release has therefore been postponed until late 2036.
During sentencing, Justice William Tam Yiu-ho said Wong and the other defendants “exploited their connections with top overseas officials and institutions to promote foreign interference on social media and through prominent news agencies in the West.”
“The sanctions and hostile acts advocated by the activists could lead to highly detrimental and adverse consequences to Hong Kong and mainland China,” the judge said.
Hong Kong experienced widespread anti-government demonstrations in 2019, followed by Beijing’s introduction of a national security law in 2020 in the semi-autonomous territory. The legislation has since been used in prosecutions involving alleged threats to national security.
Wong, who is already serving a prison term for conspiracy to commit subversion, entered his guilty plea in the separate national security case in September.
The conviction concerned his involvement in an international campaign seeking sanctions against mainland China and Hong Kong following the 2019 anti-government protests, according to reports.
Prosecutors found that Wong had conspired with fugitive former lawmaker Nathan Law Kwun-chung and other activists to “collude with foreign forces” after Beijing introduced Hong Kong’s national security law on June 30, 2020.
The newly imposed sentence will run concurrently with Wong’s existing prison term, which is due to expire on Jan. 7. His expected release has therefore been postponed until late 2036.
During sentencing, Justice William Tam Yiu-ho said Wong and the other defendants “exploited their connections with top overseas officials and institutions to promote foreign interference on social media and through prominent news agencies in the West.”
“The sanctions and hostile acts advocated by the activists could lead to highly detrimental and adverse consequences to Hong Kong and mainland China,” the judge said.
Hong Kong experienced widespread anti-government demonstrations in 2019, followed by Beijing’s introduction of a national security law in 2020 in the semi-autonomous territory. The legislation has since been used in prosecutions involving alleged threats to national security.
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