Who Is Joshua Wong? Hong Kong Activist Pleads Guilty In Second National Security Case

Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to a second national-security case in Hong Kong over accusations that he colluded with foreign forces to seek sanctions on China and the city. He is already serving a sentence of 4 years and 8 months.

The plea was entered on Wednesday in a case brought under the law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. According to reports, critics view the prosecution as part of a wider crackdown on dissidents, while China says Wong and other such activists are anti-China figures who support Hong Kong independence.

The latest case centres on claims that Wong worked with others to push foreign governments to punish China and Hong Kong. It also adds to legal trouble for the 29-year-old activist, who is already behind bars.

Sanctions Plot Details

Prosecutors accused Wong of conspiring to invite foreign sanctions against China and Hong Kong in 2020. They said he and his co-conspirators lobbied for a US law that would allow sanctions on Hong Kong and China.

The prosecution said the effort used social-media campaigning and meetings with US politicians including Marco Rubio, then a senator, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Prosecutors also said the plan was called "International Battlefront" and remained active after the National Security Law took effect in 2020.

Petition And Response

The prosecution said Wong shared an online petition by fellow activist Nathan Law, who lives in exile in London, asking digital forensic companies not to cooperate with police. The petition was shared after the 2020 security law came into effect.

Wong's case and others are being closely watched by international human rights groups and some Western countries tracking how the National Security Law is being implemented. Responding to criticism, a Hong Kong government spokesperson said, “The lawful exercise of free speech must not be conflated with taking actions to collude with a foreign country to impose ‘sanctions’ to harm one’s own country.”

Wong's Political Rise

Wong first came to prominence during a 2012 students' protest in which he led students against the introduction of national education in the schools of Hong Kong. Later, he gained prominence during the Occupy Movement of 2014. In 2016, he founded a political party called Demosisto, and during the 2019 protests, he helped seek support from overseas for the democracy movement in Hong Kong. The party disbanded after the security laws were implemented in 2020.

The 29-year-old activist gained global recognition in his teens. Beijing's 2020 security statute outlawed the protest work led by him and other young campaigners. Prosecutors focused on overseas political and media campaigns by Demosisto, the now-defunct party Wong co-led that pushed for a sovereignty referendum, to trigger sanctions against Beijing and Hong Kong across 2019 and 2020.

Wong is already in jail serving an existing sentence on an earlier national security charge of conspiracy to commit subversion after he was among a group of democratic activists who participated in an unofficial primary election in 2020. His current sentence is scheduled to end in January next year.

The formal charges outline external appeals. Wong partnered with exiled activist Nathan Law and other associates to urge overseas governments, groups and individuals to enforce trade blockades or sanctions, according to the charge sheet. These hostile campaigns against Hong Kong and Beijing occurred between 1 July and 23 November 2020, Reuters reported.