A Hong Kong court has set Thursday to sentence pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong in his second national security case, which could carry a sentence of up to life imprisonment for the 30-year-old former student leader.

Joshua Wong. File photo: Studio Incendo.

High Court Judge William Tam is set to hand down the sentence for Wong’s conviction for foreign collusion at 9.30am on Thursday, according to a court diary updated on Tuesday. The procedure is due to last around 30 minutes.

Wong pleaded guilty two months ago to the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of life behind bars under the national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020.

He was accused of conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law and others in 2020 to request that foreign countries impose sanctions and blockades or engage in other hostile activities directed against the governments of Hong Kong and mainland China.

Wong has been held by authorities since November 2020, when he pleaded guilty to inciting and organising an unauthorised assembly outside police headquarters during the 2019 protests and unrest.

He is currently serving a sentence of four years and eight months for conspiracy to subvert state power in the landmark national security case known as the “Hong Kong 47,” in which he was among 45 prominent campaigners convicted and sentenced in 2024.

Wong’s lawyer, Senior Counsel Derek Chan, told the court in September that his client had originally been due for release in January 2027 before this second national security case was brought against him.

The High Court. File photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Chan said his client had a “lengthy opportunity to reflect on… the path he took” and had not “wasted his time in prison” over the past six years.

‘Some hope in the future’

Under the Beijing-imposed security law, foreign collusion is punishable by three to 10 years behind bars. If the offence is found to be of a “grave nature,” however, 10 years becomes the minimum sentence.

In September, Chan argued that Wong’s case did not cross that threshold, saying it was less serious than the foreign collusion case of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai.

Lai was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison for foreign collusion. Among Lai’s co-defendants, three former executives of his Apple Daily newspaper were given 10-year prison terms.

Joshua Wong. File Photo: Joshua Wong, via Facebook.

Chan asked the court to adopt a starting sentence of no more than 10 years before making the customary one-third remission for Wong’s guilty plea. He also suggested a further two-year discretionary sentence discount to account for “delays” by the prosecution.

The lawyer urged the court to consider a sentence that would “allow the defendant to have an end in sight” and give him “some hope in the future.”