Joshua Wong faces sentencing for foreign collusion

Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong is scheduled to be sentenced on November 5 for the national security crime of foreign collusion, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Wong, 30, pleaded guilty in September. The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 am in Hong Kong, according to the judiciary website.

Hong Kong authorities charged Wong in June 2025 under the Beijing-imposed national security law, accusing him of asking other countries and entities to impose sanctions against Hong Kong and China.

The judge is expected to decide whether Wong's offence is of a “grave nature”. If so, the law mandates a prison term of between 10 years and life.

Wong has spent almost six years in jail. He had previously been expected to be freed in January after completing a four-year-and-eight-month sentence for subversion under the same national security law.

Wong rose to prominence during Hong Kong's 2014 Umbrella Movement protests and has faced protest-related prosecutions since 2017. He was among dozens of pro-democracy figures jailed for subversion in 2024 in Hong Kong's largest national security trial.

Rights groups have criticised the foreign collusion charge as an attempt to keep him in prison. Wong's lawyer has argued for a shorter sentence of three to 10 years, citing time already served.