Joshua Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison for "colluding with foreign forces" and may be 40 years old when he is released from prison

(Deutsche Welle Chinese website) Joshua Wong, a representative figure of Hong Kong's democratic movement and former secretary-general of Demosisto, was sentenced by the Hong Kong High Court on Thursday (November 5) to 10 years in prison for violating Hong Kong's "National Security Law" of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces"; Joshua Wong, who is currently serving a sentence for the "47 Cases", must serve until November 2036 and may be 40 years old when he is released from prison.

Joshua Wong spent his 30th birthday in prison last month. Since November 2020, he has been remanded in prison for more than 2,100 days for different cases. In June last year, he was accused of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security" with the exiled Hong Kong social activist Luo Guancong and others. He was arrested in prison and pleaded guilty to the charge in September this year. But he said he had never advocated Hong Kong independence or sought to overthrow the Chinese regime.

"I have never accepted foreign funds or paid for foreign political consultants." Huang Zhifeng said.

Hong Kong media "Courtline" reported that Joshua Wong walked into the court this morning wearing a blue dark shirt, brown pants, black-rimmed glasses, holding a book and a stack of green notebooks. A reporter from the newspaper said, "During the judge's sentencing, Joshua Wong once looked at the clock in the courtroom. He looked nervous and gritted his teeth." "Jizhishe" reported that Joshua Wong's expression was calm when he heard the sentence, and he kept his head down while copying.

The presiding judge, Tam Yiu-ho, said the defendant Joshua Wong's "crimes were serious." The criminal behavior involved in this case occurred between July 1 and November 23, 2020. At the time of the crime, Hong Kong was severely affected by social unrest and national security was at extremely high risk. The defendant conspired with Luo Guancong and others to continue to contact foreign officials or institutions and call for sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials. After the implementation of the national security law, the plan was still implemented, but the roles of the two were adjusted. The court also ruled that Huang and Luo were the masterminds of the case.

Hong Kong Police National Security Division “welcomes harsh sentence” and human rights organizations call for “immediate release”

Chief Superintendent of the National Security Division of the Police, Li Guihua, told the media after the verdict was announced that he welcomed the court's heavy sentence and pointed out that Joshua Wong had been involved in social movements since he was a minor. He had "committed numerous crimes" as an adult and was unwilling to abide by the law and did not take the court into consideration. Li Guihua said that Huang Zhifeng's case had a serious impact, especially during the turbulent period in Hong Kong, and hoped that he would "reflect on it".

The human rights organization "Human Rights Watch" issued a statement calling on the Hong Kong government to immediately and unconditionally release Joshua Wong, and foreign governments to condemn the improper detention of pro-democracy activists and impose sanctions on responsible officials.

Elaine Pearson, the organization's Asia director, said: "Sentencing Joshua Wong to such a harsh sentence on baseless charges is both cruel and unjust."

In February this year, Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison for collusion with foreign forces and incitement. "Beijing's increasing crackdown on Hong Kong has so far not paid any real price," Pearson said.

Regarding Taiwan, the Mainland Affairs Council statement criticized the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong government for continuing to use authoritarian tools such as the "Hong Kong version of the National Security Law" to frame Hong Kong democrats on false charges and pursue endless political prosecutions. The Mainland Affairs Council calls for the immediate release of innocent detained persons to protect the basic human rights and freedom of speech that Hong Kong people should have.