Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong pleads guilty in national security case

Pro-democracy activistic faces beingness condemnation successful 2nd lawsuit nether Beijing’s nationalist information law.

Prominent Hong Kong ideology activistic Joshua Wong has pleaded blameworthy to a complaint of overseas collusion successful a 2nd nationalist information lawsuit that could spot him jailed for life.

Wong, 29, entered the plea astatine Hong Kong’s High Court successful the territory of Admiralty connected Wednesday.

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He is accused of asking overseas countries to “impose sanctions oregon blockade, oregon prosecute successful different hostile activities” against China and Hong Kong successful 2020, aft Beijing imposed a nationalist information instrumentality connected the autonomous territory.

The offence is punishable by a situation word of 3 to 10 years, oregon up to beingness imprisonment if it is deemed to beryllium “of a sedate nature”.

Wong is already serving a astir five-year condemnation for subversion and was owed to beryllium released adjacent year.

Hong Kong pupil person Joshua Wong, left, stands successful beforehand of yellowish umbrellas extracurricular a magistrates tribunal successful Hong Kong [File: Vincent Yu/AP Photo]

He emerged arsenic 1 of the astir internationally recognised faces of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy question during the Umbrella Movement protests successful 2014. The question served arsenic a catalyst for the 2019 protests that led to Beijing’s imposition of the nationalist information law.

Wong besides co-founded Demosisto, a pro-democracy governmental enactment that launched successful 2016. The enactment disbanded successful 2020 connected the aforesaid time the nationalist information instrumentality was enacted.

Prosecutors said connected Wednesday that Wong had written for newspapers and spoken to media outlets to telephone for planetary sanctions against China and Hong Kong aft the information instrumentality took effect, and met with overseas politicians including erstwhile US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and existent Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

After the charges were work retired to him, Wong stood up and told the justice loudly, “Confirm”. The justice said the condemnation volition beryllium decided “as soon arsenic possible” but did not specify a date.

Several Western diplomats attended ‌the hearing.

Wong’s case comes aft 2 different activists ⁠were recovered blameworthy of inciting subversion past period aft they utilized the operation “end one-party dictatorship” successful their governmental activities.

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were portion of a radical known for organising yearly vigils marking Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre of pro-democracy protesters.