Hong Kong Activist Joshua Wong Pleads Guilty to Collusion Charge

Joshua Wong pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a national security charge that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, adding a new case to the legal troubles of one of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy activists.

Wong, 29, entered the plea before a government-approved national security judge at Hong Kong’s High Court in Admiralty. Wearing a dark blue shirt and black-rimmed glasses, he waved and nodded toward people in the courtroom dock and took deep breaths before pleading guilty.

He is already in prison under an earlier national security conviction for conspiracy to commit subversion. That case arose from his participation in an unofficial primary election held by democratic activists in 2020. His existing sentence is scheduled to end next year.

A charge sheet seen by Reuters accused Wong of conspiring with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organizations or individuals outside China to impose sanctions or blockades. The alleged actions against Hong Kong or China, along with other hostile activities, took place between July 1 and Nov. 23, 2020.

Wong became internationally prominent as a teenage activist. His case reflects the impact of the sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, after which the protest efforts of his generation have effectively been outlawed.