Jailed Hong Kong activist admits lobbying against China

Incarcerated Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong on Wednesday admitted to lobbying against Chinese interests, pleading guilty and admitting to instigating sanctions against China and Hong Kong, according to the South China Morning Post daily.

Wong, 29, admitted urging foreign businesses to avoid investing in mainland China, as well as asking an Israeli forensic technology company to terminate its services to Hong Kong police following months-long anti-government protests in 2019.

He has been imprisoned since November 2020, and the ongoing case of collusion carries a maximum life sentence, likely to be delivered by the Hong Kong High Court at a later date.

The court was told that Wong, who was a member of the now-disbanded Demosisto party, conspired with fugitive former lawmaker Nathan Law and others to gain international support for a campaign seeking to pressure Beijing to repeal the national security law and grant Hong Kong “greater political freedoms.”

The case relates to Wong’s activities in 2020, when he was involved in efforts to seek international pressure against the Chinese authorities.

Wong is already serving a four-year-and-eight-month prison sentence for conspiring to subvert state power through his participation in an unofficial legislative primary election in July 2020.

The court is likely to issue sentencing in the collusion case at a later date.

“Collusion with foreign forces carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the national security law, with a minimum jail term of 10 years applicable for serious offences,” the report said.