Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the High Court under the city's National Security Law, after pleading guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces. It is his second national security conviction, and one of the longest sentences handed down under the law.

Wong, 30, was accused of conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others between July and November 2020 to ask foreign countries, organisations or individuals to impose sanctions or blockades, or to engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong and China. He pleaded guilty on 2 September 2026. Judge William Tam said the offence was of a "grave nature", took a starting point of 13 years, and reduced it to 10 years to reflect the guilty plea — the minimum for an offence found to be grave, where the range runs from 10 years to life.

Imprisonment until he is 40

Wong has been in custody since November 2020 and was already serving four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion in the Hong Kong 47 primary election case, a sentence due to end in January 2027. Only two months and two days of the new term run concurrently with that sentence, so he is now expected to remain in prison until late 2036, when he will be 40.

Human Rights Watch called the sentence baseless and said it effectively penalises peaceful political advocacy, while Amnesty International said it was a grim reminder of the authorities' disdain for human rights. Wong became the global face of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement during the 2014 Umbrella Movement and led the Demosisto party, which disbanded after the National Security Law was imposed in 2020.

Sources: Reuters via WNCY, Hong Kong court sentences activist Joshua Wong to 10 years on national security charge, 5 November 2026; Human Rights Watch, Hong Kong: Joshua Wong Gets Nearly 10 More Years in Prison, 5 November 2026.