Joshua Wong Was Due Out in January - Hong Kong Gave Him Another Ten Years in Prison

Joshua Wong was supposed to walk out of prison in January. Instead, a Hong Kong court handed him another ten years. "The court imposed a final sentence of 10 years' imprisonment," the statement reads - for "collusion with foreign forces". Wong, who became the face of the mass pro-democracy protests, has already served almost six years. Last month he turned 30.

He was due to finish a sentence of four years and eight months for subversion, handed down under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing. But in June 2025 the authorities used that very law to charge him again - for allegedly asking other countries and organisations to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China. In September Wong pleaded guilty. Human rights groups calculate that he will stay behind bars until the end of 2036, when he will be 40. He has been in custody since November 2020, when he was 23.

He came to the hearing in a blue shirt and black glasses. He was calm, nodded to his supporters and looked over the public and the journalists. After the verdict he thanked them and waved on his way out. From the gallery came: "We will wait for your release." Dozens of people queued to get into the courtroom, and police deployed a heavy presence outside the building.

From the umbrellas to the cell

Wong rose to prominence during the 2014 protests known as the "Umbrella Movement". Since 2017 he has repeatedly ended up in prison over protest-related actions. Hong Kong authorities claim he began international lobbying as early as 2016, when he promoted the US Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act - a law that allows the American president to impose sanctions over human rights abuses in the city. In 2019, in the middle of mass and at times violent protests, Wong was part of the delegation that lobbied for it in the US. The law was eventually passed.

The following year Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law. Opposition groups were disbanded, and some activists fled the city. Wong then vowed to keep defending "my home - Hong Kong - until they silence me". He was among the dozens of activists convicted of subversion in the biggest trial under that law. Some of his co-defendants have already been released after serving their sentences. Wong is the only one from that group to have been charged twice.

Human rights organisations call the charge a deliberate attempt to keep the man in prison for as long as possible. The mechanics are clear even to someone who doesn't follow Asia: when one sentence runs out, a new one gets written. The Balkans know very well how quickly "national security" becomes the guardian of someone's grip on power. How many charges does it take before one man is considered quiet enough?