Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong will plead guilty and face sentencing accusations of foreign collaboration in September, marking his second conviction under national security law.
Wong is scheduled to appear in Superior Court on Sept. 2, according to the Judiciary’s court journal. The Journal says he will sit for a plea and sentencing hearing, indicating Wong will plead guilty.
The September session is scheduled to last one day. The judiciary has not yet announced which judge will preside over the case.
The activist is already in prison for his first national security conviction, which was for the 47 Democrats case. He was expected to be released from prison in 2027 after serving his term.
The September sentencing will be on a charge of conspiracy to carry out foreign deals under a national security law imposed by Beijing.
He is accused of conspiracy with self-sent activist Nathan Law and “other unknown persons” between July 1 and November 23, 2020, to urge foreign countries, organizations or individuals based overseas to impose sanctions, blockades or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
The law moved to the UK in 2020 following the passage of the Safety Act. In 2023, the government issued an arrest warrant for him.
He and Wong, along with other former student activists, co-founded the pro-democracy political party Demosisto. The party disbanded a few hours after the national security law entered into force on June 30, 2020.
The second charge of national security
Wong is currently serving a sentence of four years and eight months for his involvement in the another case of national security related to the primary elections in 2020.
The 29-year-old was arrested in prison last June for the new offence. He was brought to court the same day and charged with conspiracy to collaborate with foreign forces.
The case was transferred from the magistrate, the lower level court, to the Supreme Court in the middle of May.
Conspiracy for collaboration with foreign forces is punishable by imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than 10 years.
In February, it was pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years behind bars for two counts of criminal offense and one count of sedition. He pleaded not guilty.
