Joshua Wong pleads guilty in second Hong Kong National Security Law trial

Today, Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to ‘conspiring to collude with foreign forces’ in his second trial under the Hong Kong National Security Law. He will be sentenced at a later date.

In June 2025, Wong was arrested in jail on national security charges for conspiring with exiled pro-democracy activist Nathan Law and other unidentified individuals, to request sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials for their human rights abuses. This included promoting the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in the United States.

At the time of his arrest, Wong was already serving a prison sentence of four years and eight months for ‘conspiracy to commit subversion’ in the ‘Hong Kong 47’ case. He had originally been due for release in January 2027.

Including previous charges and sentences involving activities in the 2019 protests, Wong has been remanded in custody since 2020.

Reporting on the earlier committal and transfer proceedings, which moved Wong’s case from the magistrates’ court to the High Court in May 2026, was heavily restricted under standard Hong Kong reporting laws.

Megan Khoo, Policy Director of Hong Kong Watch, said:

“The National Security Law is being weaponised by the Hong Kong authorities to restrict freedom of association, criminalise dissidence, and prolong the imprisonment of pro-democracy activists for as long as possible. Joshua Wong is a clear example. Already serving a sentence for a 2020 subversion conviction, he has now pleaded guilty in his second national security trial, for collusion with foreign forces, and faces many more years in prison.

With the trial under much public attention, the court read out the charges against Wong in full, and in doing so, exposed just how absurd they are. He is being punished for doing what myself and many others, including Hong Kongers exiled around the world, do every day: advocating for Hong Kong on the international stage. This is activity guaranteed under international human rights law.

We call on international governments to pressure Hong Kong officials to immediately and unconditionally release Joshua Wong. The authorities may imprison political dissidents, but they will never imprison their vision of democracy and justice.”

黃之鋒認「串謀勾結外國勢力」罪 香港監察斥當局武器化國安法

香港社運人士黃之鋒今日承認「串謀勾結外國勢力」罪，這是他第二宗《國家安全法》案件。法庭擇日判刑。

黃之鋒去年6月在獄中被以《國安法》拘捕，被控與流亡社運人士羅冠聰及其他身分不詳人士串謀，請求就香港和中國官員的侵犯人權行為實施制裁，當中包括推動美國《香港人權與民主法案》。

黃之鋒被捕時正就47人案「串謀顛覆國家政權」罪服刑四年八個月，原本預計2027年1月出獄。

連同之前涉及2019年示威活動的控罪和刑期，黃之鋒自2020年起被羈押至今。

本案今年5月在西九龍裁判法院完成交付至高等法院的程序，交付程序內容報導受到法例嚴格限制。

香港監察政策總監Megan Khoo表示：

「香港當局正武器化《國安法》，用以限制結社自由，將異見行為定為犯罪，並儘量延長民主活動人士的監禁刑期。黃之鋒就是明顯例子。他正就2020年『顛覆國家政權』罪服刑，現因承認第二項國安控罪『串謀勾結外國勢力』，要繼續坐監多年。

本案備受公眾關注，法庭完整讀出對黃之鋒的指控，這樣做正暴露出這些指控何其荒謬。他因做我和流亡世界各地港人等多人每日都做的事情而受到懲罰：在國際舞台上為香港倡議。這是受國際人權法保障的活動。

我們呼籲各國政府向香港官員施壓，要求立即無條件釋放黃之鋒。當局也許能夠囚禁政治異見人士，但永遠不能囚禁他們對民主和公義的願景。」

Photo: AlcorBlack2, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons