# Hong Kong High Court Sentences Joshua Wong to 10 Years in Foreign-Collusion Case

> MKNIRALO — World — HONG KONG | NATIONAL SECURITY CASE

- Published: 2026-11-05
- Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
- Byline: Hana — Northeast Asia Security & Diplomacy Observer
- Byline disclosure: Hana is a MKNIRALO house editorial byline maintained by the publication, not a claim of an independently verified individual. It does not imply military, diplomatic or intelligence access, national affiliation, security credentials or firsthand reporting.
- Author profile: https://mkniralo.com/authors/hana/
- Tags: Hong Kong, Joshua Wong, National Security Law, High Court, Court Sentencing, Foreign Collusion
- Cover image: https://mkniralo.com/images/hong-kong-joshua-wong-ten-year-foreign-collusion-sentence-2026.svg

Joshua Wong received a 10-year term after pleading guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. The High Court set out its sentencing calculation and how the new term overlaps with an earlier sentence.

Hong Kong’s High Court sentenced Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison on November 5, 2026, after his guilty plea to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the city’s national security law. Judge William Tam started at 13 years, reduced the term by three years for the plea and mitigation, and ordered two months and two days to overlap with a separate prison sentence. The November ruling is Wong’s second national-security case, distinct from his earlier subversion conviction.

## A ten-year sentence in the High Court

Hong Kong’s High Court sentenced activist Joshua Wong to 10 years in prison on Thursday, November 5, 2026, for conspiracy to collude with foreign countries or external elements to endanger national security. Judge William Tam imposed the term after Wong had pleaded guilty. Reuters and Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK reported the judgment on the day of sentencing.

Wong, who turned 30 in October, was already imprisoned in a separate national-security case. Thursday’s decision concerns a second prosecution, with a different charge and factual basis. The new sentence must therefore be distinguished from the prison term imposed over his participation in an unofficial legislative primary election in 2020.

Sources:
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 years in jail on national security charge](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-court-sentences-activist-joshua-wong-10-years-national-security-charge-2026-11-05/) — Reuters
- [Joshua Wong jailed 10 years for foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876638-20261105.htm) — RTHK
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years in prison](https://apnews.com/article/ae76ad9af99a822d92e24b488633996b) — Associated Press

## The charge and the September guilty plea

Wong entered his guilty plea at the High Court on September 2. The charge related to an alleged conspiracy with former lawmaker Nathan Law and others to request that foreign governments, organisations or individuals impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile measures against Hong Kong or China. The conduct period identified in Reuters’ account ran from July 1 to November 23, 2020.

At the September hearing, prosecutors described international lobbying before and after the national security law took effect. RTHK and the South China Morning Post reported that the prosecution pointed to foreign media appearances and social-media activity after the law’s introduction. These descriptions refer to the prosecution’s case as presented in court; the sentencing reported on November 5 was imposed on Wong.

Sources:
- [Joshua Wong admits instigating sanctions against Beijing, Hong Kong governments](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3366044/joshua-wong-admits-instigating-sanctions-against-beijing-hong-kong-governments) — South China Morning Post
- [Joshua Wong pleads guilty to foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1868534-20260902.htm) — RTHK
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong pleads guilty to collusion with foreign entities](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-pleads-guilty-collusion-with-foreign-entities-2026-09-02/) — Reuters
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 years in jail on national security charge](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-court-sentences-activist-joshua-wong-10-years-national-security-charge-2026-11-05/) — Reuters

## What the judge said about the conduct

Judge Tam classified the offence as being of a grave nature under the national security law. RTHK reported that the judge described Wong and Law as two leaders of the conspiracy and said the activity continued after the law came into force. The court’s account included calls for sanctions and other measures directed at the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities.

The judge also addressed the division of activity described at the hearing: people outside Hong Kong made public calls for foreign action, while Wong, who remained in Hong Kong, circulated or supported those calls. Those conclusions are the court’s characterisation of the admitted conduct; they are not a separate finding that every person mentioned in the proceedings has received the same judgment.

Sources:
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 years in jail on national security charge](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-court-sentences-activist-joshua-wong-10-years-national-security-charge-2026-11-05/) — Reuters
- [Joshua Wong jailed 10 years for foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876638-20261105.htm) — RTHK

## How the court reached ten years

RTHK reported that Tam selected 13 years as the starting point for the sentence. He then applied a three-year reduction for Wong’s guilty plea and other mitigation, producing a final term of ten years. The broadcaster reported that ten years was the statutory minimum for an offence in the grave category.

The court directed that two months and two days of the new term run concurrently with the sentence Wong was already serving. As a result, describing the decision simply as ten years added after completion of the earlier term would omit an important detail about how the sentences overlap.

Sources:
- [Joshua Wong jailed 10 years for foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876638-20261105.htm) — RTHK
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 years in jail on national security charge](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-court-sentences-activist-joshua-wong-10-years-national-security-charge-2026-11-05/) — Reuters
- [Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Articles 29–30)](https://eng.mod.gov.cn/xb/Publications/LR/4888377.html) — National People’s Congress — official text reproduced by the Ministry of National Defense

## The earlier subversion case remains separate

In November 2024, Wong was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison for conspiracy to commit subversion in proceedings connected to an unofficial primary election held in 2020. That earlier case was not a foreign-collusion conviction and was not retried at Thursday’s sentencing.

Before the second sentence, Wong had been expected to finish the earlier term in January 2027. AFP reported on November 5 that the new term shifts the projected release to late 2036. That projection is a news report of the sentence’s practical effect, rather than an independently obtained prison-release calculation.

Sources:
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 years in jail on national security charge](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-court-sentences-activist-joshua-wong-10-years-national-security-charge-2026-11-05/) — Reuters
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years in prison](https://apnews.com/article/ae76ad9af99a822d92e24b488633996b) — Associated Press
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years](https://www.afp.com/en/hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-sentenced-10-more-years) — Agence France-Presse
- [Joshua Wong jailed 10 years for foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876638-20261105.htm) — RTHK

## The legal provision and the recorded sequence

The national security law took effect in Hong Kong on June 30, 2020. Article 29 addresses, among other specified conduct, requests or conspiracies involving external parties to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. The law supplies the legal framework; it is not evidence by itself that a particular defendant committed an offence.

The dates recorded in the reporting are distinct: the charged conduct was alleged to have occurred in 2020; Wong pleaded guilty on September 2, 2026; and the High Court pronounced the ten-year sentence on November 5. The sentencing concerns Wong’s admitted charge and does not itself constitute a judgment against others named in the prosecution’s account.

Sources:
- [Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Articles 29–30)](https://eng.mod.gov.cn/xb/Publications/LR/4888377.html) — National People’s Congress — official text reproduced by the Ministry of National Defense
- [Joshua Wong admits instigating sanctions against Beijing, Hong Kong governments](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3366044/joshua-wong-admits-instigating-sanctions-against-beijing-hong-kong-governments) — South China Morning Post
- [Joshua Wong pleads guilty to foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1868534-20260902.htm) — RTHK
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 years in jail on national security charge](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-court-sentences-activist-joshua-wong-10-years-national-security-charge-2026-11-05/) — Reuters
- [Joshua Wong jailed 10 years for foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876638-20261105.htm) — RTHK

## About this article

This article reflects the public sources available on the publication and update dates shown above. For developing stories, follow the linked source pages for subsequent statements or decisions.

## Sources and further reading

- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong gets 10 years in jail on national security charge](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-court-sentences-activist-joshua-wong-10-years-national-security-charge-2026-11-05/) — Reuters (published 2026-11-05) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Joshua Wong jailed 10 years for foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1876638-20261105.htm) — RTHK (published 2026-11-05) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Joshua Wong admits instigating sanctions against Beijing, Hong Kong governments](https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3366044/joshua-wong-admits-instigating-sanctions-against-beijing-hong-kong-governments) — South China Morning Post (published 2026-09-02) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Joshua Wong pleads guilty to foreign collusion](https://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1868534-20260902.htm) — RTHK (published 2026-09-02) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong pleads guilty to collusion with foreign entities](https://www.reuters.com/world/hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-pleads-guilty-collusion-with-foreign-entities-2026-09-02/) — Reuters (published 2026-09-02) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years in prison](https://apnews.com/article/ae76ad9af99a822d92e24b488633996b) — Associated Press (published 2026-11-05) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong sentenced to 10 more years](https://www.afp.com/en/hong-kong-activist-joshua-wong-sentenced-10-more-years) — Agence France-Presse (published 2026-11-05) (accessed 2026-11-05)
- [Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Articles 29–30)](https://eng.mod.gov.cn/xb/Publications/LR/4888377.html) — National People’s Congress — official text reproduced by the Ministry of National Defense (published 2021-06-29) (accessed 2026-11-05)