Joshua Wong pleads guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces

Joshua Wong of the dissolved Demosisto pleads guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. The 29-year-old former political activist could face up to a life sentence.

The hearing is held at the High Court. Joshua Wong, the former co-founder of Demosisto, pleads guilty at the start of the proceedings.

The prosecution says Wong advocated sanctions against Hong Kong and China through multiple channels, including writing articles on foreign media outlets and meeting with overseas politicians.

In presenting his mitigation, the defence barrister, Jonathan Man, states that Wong has spent nearly six years behind bars since his arrest in November 2020. Man says Wong has not wasted time in prison and has read more than 100 books, and that his client still holds a positive attitude that "someday he will be released from prison" to lead "a positive life" and to "take care of his ageing parents."

The barrister points out that Wong's offence is less grave in nature, comparing it to former media tycoon Jimmy Lai's case -- Hong Kong's first national security case involving the charge of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. He says the court adopted a 15-year sentence as a starting point for Lai but raised it to 18 after treating him as the mastermind.

The defence pleads with the court to sentence Wong to the upper end of the lower band, which is three to 10 years. The upper band is 10 years to life sentence.

Wong is already serving four years and eight months for the 47 democrats case and is initially scheduled to be out in January 2027 before this conspiracy case. In total, Wong has been in jail for more than 2,100 days.

The hearing lasted for about two hours, and the judge adjourned the court for sentencing to a later date.