Joshua Wong, Hong Kong pro-democracy poster boy facing longer prison stint

HONG KONG: Joshua Wong was one of the poster boys of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, seen as a thorn in Beijing's side as it seeks to stamp its authority on the territory.

On Thursday morning, Wong will be sentenced for "foreign collusion" under the national security law, which is likely to extend his jail term beyond the six years he has already served.

Wong, who turned 30 last month, was the subject of a Netflix documentary and his picture appeared on magazine covers around the world — until he disappeared from public view and went to prison.

Born to middle-class Christian parents in 1996, a year before Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China, Wong was politically aware from a young age.

He got an early taste of activism at 13, protesting against plans for a high-speed rail link to mainland China.

In 2012, Wong campaigned successfully for Hong Kong to drop a pro-China national education curriculum after rallying 120,000 people to blockade the government's headquarters.

He embraced and promoted the ethos of non-violent civil disobedience, helping to organise strikes, boycotts and street demonstrations.

Wong became a household name during Hong Kong's 2014 protests, known as the Umbrella Movement, after giving speeches alongside fellow student leaders Nathan Law and Alex Chow.

A price to pay

But the 2014 movement failed to win any concessions from China's Communist leadership or Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leaders.

Wong's activism came at a cost, as authorities prosecuted him and other Umbrella Movement leaders.

Wong went on to found a political party, Demosisto, in 2016 to campaign for self-determination, meaning that the city's residents, rather than Beijing, should decide Hong Kong's fate.

Unlike more radical activists, Wong did not call for the city's independence — a red line for Beijing.

He was also involved in the huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy rallies in 2019, which prompted Beijing to impose the national security law on Hong Kong the following year.

[[nid:1571032]]

Thin, with gaunt features and a studious frown, Wong took his fight beyond Hong Kong, meeting politicians in Taiwan, Germany and the United States.

In an article written for Time magazine from prison in June 2019, he said: "My lack of freedom today is a price I knew I would have to pay for the city I love."

When the Beijing-imposed security law took effect on June 30, 2020, Demosisto disbanded.

Wong wrote at the time that he would "continue to defend my home – Hong Kong – until they silence me and eliminate me from this land".

Years behind bars

Wong has been jailed for more than 2,000 days in total for several convictions and was due to be released in January.

But prosecutors pursued him again last year, saying that his international lobbying activities constituted "foreign collusion" — a crime that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Wong pleaded guilty, a move that typically leads to a shorter jail term.

Wong had read hundreds of books in jail, ranging from business to pop culture, and remained energetic by working out and playing the guitar, according to his lawyer and friends.

He "has matured substantially in his thoughts and views" in jail, his lawyer told the court in September.

Wong has maintained his curiosity and desire to gain a deeper understanding of the world, said Louis Lee, a friend who visits him regularly in prison.

In a letter written to Lee in September and seen by AFP, Wong said that the fear he had felt over the past few years had accumulated to an "unprecedented" level.

But he said he had come to understand more deeply the meaning of the Bible verse: "There is no fear in love."

"That is true of the love between companions, love for a shared community, and love for a city."