One of the most high-profile figures of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, Joshua Wong, has entered a guilty plea to a charge of collusion with foreign forces — an offense that can carry a maximum penalty of life imprisonment under China’s widely debated National Security Law (NSL) for Hong Kong.
The 29-year-old activist, who became the global face of organized political dissent in the semi-autonomous region, is already in custody serving a four-year-and-eight-month sentence for a separate subversion conviction, another violation of the NSL, handed down in late 2024. That existing sentence was originally set to conclude in early 2026.
Wong first rose to international prominence as a leading organizer of the 2014 Umbrella Movement, and later stood at the forefront of the large-scale 2019 pro-democracy protests that swept across Hong Kong. According to court documents reviewed by Reuters, the latest collusion charge accuses Wong of conspiring with fellow pro-democracy campaigners — including exiled activist Nathan Law — to lobby foreign governments and international entities outside China to impose sanctions or economic blockades against Beijing and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government.
Court documents indicate the alleged activities occurred between July and late November 2020, the same year Beijing enacted the NSL following the 2019 unrest. The legislation has remained deeply controversial since its introduction: critics of the law argue it has eliminated political pluralism, crushed all forms of dissent, and created a pervasive climate of fear in Hong Kong, effectively eroding the city’s long-promised autonomy under the “one country, two systems” framework. For their part, Beijing and Hong Kong’s governing authorities maintain the NSL is an essential tool to restore public stability, safeguard national sovereignty, and reject claims that it has undermined the city’s independent governance.
On Tuesday, approximately 40 of Wong’s supporters — including fellow activists and close personal friends — gathered outside the courtroom to show their backing. Some called out words of encouragement, shouting “Hang in there, Joshua!” to the defendant. Photographs and witness accounts show Wong, wearing a dark blue shirt, smiled and nodded from the defendant’s dock in response to the show of support.
Tsang Kin-shing, a former leader of the now-disbanded League of Social Democrats, a pro-democracy political group, called on the court to issue a lenient sentence, pointing out that Wong has already spent more than 2,000 days behind bars across multiple prison terms related to his political activity. Another fellow activist, Louis Lee, expressed disappointment that Wong was hit with a second NSL charge while already serving time for a separate political offense, saying the news had left Wong and his supporters deeply disheartened.
Despite his imprisonment, Lee added that Wong has continued to pursue new personal activities behind bars, including learning to play the guitar and maintaining a regular fitness routine. “I hope everyone can learn from his resilience,” Lee said.