Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces – his second conviction under a Beijing-imposed national security law following a landmark subversion case.
Joshua Wong. File photo: Studio Incendo.
Appearing at the High Court on Wednesday, Wong, speaking in a clear voice, answered “guilty” to the charge, read out in full by a court clerk due to the “high level of public interest” in the case.
The 29-year-old was accused of conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others in 2020 to request that foreign countries impose sanctions and blockades or engage in other hostile activities directed against the governments of Hong Kong and mainland China.
The offence carries a maximum penalty of life behind bars.
‘International battlefront’
Reading out a court document known as the summary of facts, prosecutors told the court that Wong and Law had pursued the notion of “democratic self-determination” under the pro-democracy party Demosisto, which they founded in 2016.
The pair were accused of having requested foreign sanctions by engaging in an “international battlefront” in the wake of the 2019 protests and unrest.
Representatives of foreign consulates in Hong Kong leave the High Court on September 2, 2026, after attending a hearing during which activist Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Wong was said to have conducted international lobbying for sanctions against the Special Administrative Region or central government, requesting that the US introduce the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in 2019 and imploring other Western countries to impose Magnitsky-style sanction programmes.
He continued his international lobbying campaign despite the enactment of the Beijing-imposed national security law in June 2020, prosecutors said, while Law flew out of the city to carry on their cause overseas.
“The defendant, who remained in Hong Kong, would continue to support the advancement of the international battlefront via foreign media outlets and social media platforms” to request foreign sanctions, prosecutor Mingme Yeung said.
No remission
Wong wore thick black-rimmed glasses and a navy shirt as he was led into the dock on Wednesday. He appeared thinner as he nodded to friends and supporters sitting in the public gallery. Among the attendees were past members of Scholarism, the now-disbanded student activism group he founded in 2011.
He is currently serving a prison term of four years and eight months for conspiracy to subvert state power in the landmark national security case known as the “Hong Kong 47,” in which he was among 45 prominent campaigners convicted and sentenced in 2024.
A Correctional Service vehicle outside the High Court on September 2, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Wong’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Derek Chan, told the court on Wednesday that his client had originally been due for release in January 2027 before this second national security case was brought against him.
Chan also revealed that the Correctional Services Department had informed Wong that he would not receive a remission for his earlier sentence, which would have allowed for a reduction in his prison term to account for time already spent in custody prior to sentencing.
Wong, who will turn 30 next month, has been in jail since he was 24 and has had a “lengthy opportunity to reflect on… the path he took,” Chan said. “He has not wasted his time in prison.”
The activist has read over a hundred books written by figures from across the political spectrum while in custody, Chan said, adding that he had hoped to take care of his ageing parents upon release.
Police officers outside the High Court on September 2, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
‘An end in sight’
Under the Beijing-imposed security law, foreign collusion is punishable by three to 10 years behind bars. If the offence is found to be of a “grave nature,” however, 10 years becomes the minimum sentence.
Chan argued that Wong’s case did not cross that threshold, saying it was less serious than the foreign collusion case of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai.
Lai was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison for the same offence. Among Lai’s co-defendants, three former executives of his Apple Daily newspaper were given 10-year jail terms.
Chan asked the court to adopt a starting sentence of no more than 10 years before making the customary one-third remission for Wong’s guilty plea. The lawyer also suggested a further two-year discretionary sentence discount to account for “delays” by the prosecution.
The lawyer urged the court to consider a sentence that would “allow the defendant to have an end in sight” and give him “some hope in the future.”
Members of the public lining up to witness proceedings for activist Joshua Wong’s national security case on September 2, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Judge William Tam said he would decide on the sentence “as soon as possible” and adjourned the hearing to a later date.
Good spirits
Wong said “goodbye, goodbye” and waved towards the public gallery as he was led away by correctional officers.
Louis Lee, a former member of Scholarism, told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing that Wong appeared to be in good spirits while in court.
“We will keep supporting him as he has been our friend for many years, and I hope the public will continue to support and care about him as well,” he added in Cantonese.
Former Scholarism members Tiffany Chin (left) and Louis Lee (right) leave the High Court on September 2, 2026, after pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
Demosisto announced its disbandment on the day the national security law came into effect. Nathan Law, who currently resides in the United Kingdom, is wanted by Hong Kong’s national security police. A HK$1 million bounty has been offered for information leading to his arrest.
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