Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong pleads guilty to foreign collusion

Summary

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to a foreign-collusion charge during his second national security trial, according to AFP journalists who observed the proceedings. Prosecutors accuse Wong of urging foreign countries, individuals, and institutions in 2020 to impose sanctions, blockades, or other hostile measures against Hong Kong and China after Beijing enacted a national security law for Hong Kong. They said he used social media, newspaper articles, and media interviews to seek international pressure, and that he met foreign politicians including former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and then-U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Wong confirmed his plea in court and is already serving a nearly five-year sentence for subversion related to his participation in informal 2020 elections. He had been expected to be released next year, but the new charge carries a possible life sentence. Rights groups argue that the prosecution is intended to prolong his imprisonment. Wong became prominent during Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement and later participated in the large 2019 democracy protests, which preceded Beijing’s imposition of the national security law in 2020. The article does not report a sentence in the foreign-collusion case.