Joshua Wong Faces More Prison Time as Lawmakers Decry Hong Kong Crackdown

International lawmakers and human rights advocates are calling for the release of prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong after he pleaded guilty to a national security charge that could extend his imprisonment beyond his expected release of January 2027.

Wong, the former secretary-general of the now-disbanded Demosistō party, appeared before Hong Kong’s High Court on Sept. 2 and admitted to one count of “conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or external forces to endanger national security.” Though his sentencing was postponed, with no date immediately announced, the new conviction could now keep Wong behind bars for much longer, especially for national security charges that carry potentially longer prison terms.

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The activist is already serving a four-year-and-eight-month sentence for conspiracy to subvert state power in the landmark “Hong Kong 47” case involving an unofficial 2020 pro-democracy primary.

While imprisoned, Wong was arrested at Stanley Prison by national security police in June 2025 and charged in a separate case. Authorities accused him of conspiring with media tycoon Jimmy Lai, exiled activist Nathan Law, and others between July 1 and Nov. 23, 2020, to seek foreign sanctions, blockades, or other hostile actions against China or Hong Kong.

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Wong’s defense argued that his conduct was considerably less serious than that alleged against Lai and emphasized that Wong was neither a mastermind nor organizer. His lawyers sought a reduced sentence based partly on his early guilty plea and urged the court to consider both his role in the case and the nearly six years he has already spent behind bars.

Pelosi: ‘Advocacy for freedom is not a crime’

The case prompted renewed criticism in Washington. Former U.S. House Speaker and current Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi addressed Wong’s case on the House floor following his guilty plea, pointing to his involvement in Hong Kong’s democracy movement since his teenage years.

Beijing’s unjust prosecution of Joshua Wong is an “appalling abuse of power,” said Pelosi in a post on X. “Everyone who truly cares about democracy should be proud to stand with him and the people of Hong Kong,” she wrote, adding, “Advocacy for freedom is not a crime and the international community must immediately demand his release.”

Pelosi also invoked Lai’s case and urged Congress to continue supporting human rights in Hong Kong, Tibet, and elsewhere China. Lai is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence on subversion charges, a term “tantamount to a life sentence” for the 78-year-old media publisher, the U.K. said.

“We must speak out for freedom. We must not let this be ignored,” said Pelosi during her floor remarks, “The most horrible form of torture that the Chinese government inflicts on these prisoners is to tell them: ‘Nobody remembers you or why you are here.’ We want to be sure that they know we remember them.”

Hong Kong is enabling repression

The bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) also condemned the proceedings and abuse of power. “In 2019, Joshua Wong testified before the CECC, warning that the freedoms underpinning Hong Kong’s prosperity were being dismantled. He was right.” the commission said.

“What occurred today in Hong Kong is sadly just another political persecution where the courts are used to cloak repression in the appearance of law,” the statement noted, adding, “Joshua Wong should be honored for his courage—not jailed for peacefully defending Hong Kong’s freedoms.”

The U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) similarly demanded Wong’s release, arguing that Hong Kong’s once-independent judiciary had been “weaponized” to suppress freedoms and rights, while instilling fear among pro-democracy activists.

Calls for action spread

European Parliament member Nicola Procaccini, co-chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, said Wong’s guilty plea demonstrated “how Xi Jinping’s regime is suffocating every voice of freedom in Hong Kong through repression.” Procaccini said Europe “cannot become complicit through silence” in the face of political prosecutions and systematic violations of fundamental rights.

Canadian Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan also criticized Wong’s prosecution, describing it as part of a broader dismantling of political and civil freedoms under the banner of national security. Wong, she noted, has already lost nearly six years of freedom for his peaceful political advocacy and participation.

Human Rights Watch researcher Yalkun Uluyol likewise called for his immediate release. “In Hong Kong, prominent pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong is facing another severe punishment for being an inspiration for many. It’s an unacceptable cruelty to keep stacking charges against him since Nov 2020. Authorities should free him immediately,” wrote Uluyol in a post on X.

Hong Kong Democracy Council Executive Director Anna Kwok likewise called the latest prosecution “a total sham” arguing that much of the evidence cited by authorities concerned conduct predating the controversial National Security Law (NSL).

Beijing imposed Hong Kong’s sweeping NSL in late 2020 following months of mass pro-democracy protests. The law criminalizes broadly defined acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces, with the most serious offenses punishable by life imprisonment.

Since its enactment, scores of activists have been arrested or prosecuted, while opposition groups and independent media outlets have shuttered, prompting critics to accuse Beijing of using national security legislation to dismantle the political freedoms that once distinguished Hong Kong from mainland China.