Activist Joshua Wong faces sentencing Thursday in Hong Kong national security case

Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong leaves Central police station in Hong Kong on September 24, 2020, after being arrested for unlawful assembly related to a 2019 protest against a government ban on face masks. A Hong Kong court will sentence pro-democracy activist Wong on November 5, 2026 according to the judiciary’s website, in a second national security trial that could see him jailed for life. — AFP pic

First Published: Tuesday, 03 Nov 2026 2:05 PM MYT

HONG KONG, Nov 3 — A Hong Kong court will sentence pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong on Thursday, according to the judiciary’s website, in a second national security trial that could see him jailed for life.

Wong, who is already serving a nearly five-year jail term for subversion and was due for release in early 2027, pleaded guilty to the collusion charges in September.

The 30-year-old former student leader is one of the most recognisable faces of the Chinese city’s now-quashed democracy movement.

He was charged last year under a national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing, in a move condemned by rights groups.

The Hong Kong judiciary website showed on Tuesday that a sentencing hearing was scheduled for November 5.

Wong sprang to prominence during widespread protests more than a decade ago, and was later involved in the huge pro-democracy rallies in 2019 that triggered the imposition of the national security law.

Prosecutors said Wong, self-exiled activist Nathan Law, and others asked foreign entities to seriously disrupt the formulation and implementation of laws or policies in Hong Kong and China.

Wong’s friends told AFP earlier this year that the activist remained “energetic” while in detention by working out, playing the guitar and studying university courses.

The offence of foreign collusion may be punishable by life imprisonment if found to be of a “serious nature”.

Wong’s lawyer has argued for a shorter sentence of three to 10 years, noting that Wong has already spent around six years in prison for various offences. — AFP