Joshua Wong set for 2 September sentencing in Hong Kong national security case

Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong is scheduled to face a plea and sentencing hearing on 2 September in a second case brought under the city's national security law. The hearing is expected to last one day, according to the judiciary's website. The case centres on allegations that Wong conspired to collude with foreign forces in 2020.

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Wong was arrested in June 2025 on suspicion of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. He is accused of working with fellow activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organisations or individuals outside China to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile actions against Hong Kong or China. The alleged conduct is said to have taken place between 1 July and 23 November 2020.

The offence carries a possible prison term of three to 10 years, or up to life imprisonment if it is judged to be of a grave nature. Wong previously pleaded guilty in a separate national security case linked to an unofficial primary election and was sentenced in 2024 to four years and eight months. That earlier case and the new proceedings both fall under the national security law introduced in Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020.

The latest hearing comes against the backdrop of a wider crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement since the mass protests of 2019. Wong first rose to prominence in 2012 as a student leader opposing national education plans, and later became one of the best-known figures in the 2014 Occupy Movement. He also co-founded the political party Demosisto in 2016 with other young activists, including Law, before the party disbanded after the security law took effect.

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Authorities have said the law restored stability to the city, while critics argue it has sharply narrowed political space. Wong's case is one of several involving activists who sought overseas support during the 2019 protests and the period that followed. Hong Kong authorities have also offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars for information leading to the arrests of Law and other overseas-based activists.

What remains unclear is how the court will proceed at the 2 September hearing and whether the sentence will be delivered the same day. It is also not known whether any further charges or related proceedings will follow. The case is likely to remain closely watched because of Wong's profile and the continuing use of the national security law against prominent pro-democracy figures.

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