Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong pleads guilty in national security case

Pro-democracy activist faces life sentence in second case under Beijing’s national security law.Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong has pleaded guilty to a charge of foreign collusion in a second national security case that could see him jailed for life.Wong, 29, entered the plea at Hong Kong’s High Court in the district of Admiralty on Wednesday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Why are Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigil organisers facing prison?list 2 of 4Hong Kong Tiananmen activists found guilty of national security chargeslist 3 of 4Hong Kong court rejects appeal in landmark subversion caselist 4 of 4Hong Kong to sentence media mogul Jimmy Lai on national security convictionend of listHe is accused of asking foreign countries to “impose sanctions or blockade, or engage in other hostile activities” against China and Hong Kong in 2020, after Beijing imposed a national security law on the autonomous territory.The offence is punishable by a prison term of three to 10 years, or up to life imprisonment if it is deemed to be “of a grave nature”.Wong is already serving a nearly five-year sentence for subversion and was due to be released next year.Hong Kong student leader Joshua Wong, left, stands in front of yellow umbrellas outside a magistrates court in Hong Kong [File: Vincent Yu/AP Photo]He emerged as one of the most internationally recognised faces of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement during the Umbrella Movement protests in 2014. The movement served as a catalyst for the 2019 protests that led to Beijing’s imposition of the national security law.Wong also co-founded Demosisto, a pro-democracy political party that launched in 2016. The party disbanded in 2020 on the same day the national security law was enacted.Prosecutors said on Wednesday that Wong had written for newspapers and spoken to media outlets to call for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong after the security law took effect, and met with foreign politicians including former US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and current Secretary of State Marco Rubio.