US, UK, allies chide China, Hong Kong over Joshua Wong sentencing

The United States, the United Kingdom, and allies have denounced the sentencing of Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong to 10 years’ imprisonment following a further charge under the National Security Law.

The governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and New Zealand also endorsed the joint statement released on Friday.

Noting that the verdict followed the conviction of leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, the partner nations said the NSL “is being used to target individuals for political expression and participation.”

They demanded an end to “all unjust prosecutions of individuals charged under the NSL,” urging China and Hong Kong to uphold global commitments and the people’s rights guaranteed under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.

China has criticised the international community’s response, insisting Wong was found culpable of connivance with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security.

“In the face of overwhelming facts and evidence, Wong had no grounds to justify his behavior and pleaded guilty,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.

Beijing advised countries to respect China’s sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, and stop interfering in Hong Kong’s judicial affairs and China’s internal affairs.

Thirty-year-old Wong was already serving a four-year, eight-month prison term after pleading guilty in a major national security case, and was due for release in January.

But in 2025, he was charged again, alongside fellow activist Nathan Law, with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and seeking measures against China and Hong Kong.

“It is also necessary for this court to express the community’s abhorrence of the defendant’s scheme and acts together with others to collude with foreign forces,” Judge William Tam wrote in his ruling.

Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Nathan Law Kwun-chung first emerged as teenage student activists during the 2012 anti-national education protests and the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

They co-founded the defunct political party Demosistō in 2016, together with Agnes Chow, to advocate for democratic self-determination and international awareness.