Joshua Wong Chi-fung, former secretary-general of Demosisto, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on Thursday after pleading guilty of “conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” on Sept 2. The court explicitly ruled that Wong’s offense fell within the category of a “grave nature”. The lawful and severe penalty slapped on Wong underscores judicial justice and reinforces the dignity of the rule of law. It serves as a resounding reminder that national security laws possess real teeth, ensuring that Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity and stability remain under reliable, unshakeable watch. Wong is currently serving a sentence of four years and eight months for another offense involving the illegal “35+ primary election”. He was rearrested and prosecuted in prison in June 2025 for the second offense. The indictment in the current case noted that between July 1, 2020, and Nov 23, 2020, Wong conspired with Nathan Law Kwun-chung and others to request foreign or external institutions, organizations, or personnel to impose sanctions, blockades, or take other hostile actions against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chinese mainland.

According to Article 29 of the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law, a person who commits the offense of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years; if the offense is of a “grave nature”, the person shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years. This sentencing aligns with the principle of proportionality between crime and punishment. In mitigation, the defense submitted that Wong had pleaded guilty and argued that the present case was less egregious than that of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, praying that the judge would exercise discretion to discount the sentence and order appropriate concurrent service with his existing term. The court noted that acute social unrest prevailed at the material time of the offense, and that the calls for foreign sanctions and other hostile measures by Wong and Law exacerbated the predicament of the central authorities and the SAR.

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Ruling the offense to be of a “grave nature”, the court adopted a sentencing starting point of 13 years’ imprisonment. Taking into account his timely guilty plea and satisfactory rehabilitation performance, the court ultimately sentenced Wong to 10 years’ imprisonment, with two months and two days of the term ordered to run concurrently with his current sentence. Wong, who had stopped at no evil against his own home city, embarked on a path of no return at the age of 16 by instigating so-called social movements. He had committed a series of criminal offenses. In the 2014 “reclaiming Civic Square” case, he was sentenced by the court to six months’ imprisonment for taking part in an unlawful assembly. In the 2014 Mong Kok clearance case, he was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for contempt of court, which was reduced to two months upon appeal. Wong had also participated in anti-extradition activities and unlawful assemblies: In the June 2019, siege of the police headquarters case, he was sentenced to 13.5 months’ imprisonment; in the October 2019 anti-mask law march case, he was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment; in the June 2020 unlawful assembly case, he was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment, reduced to eight months upon appeal; and in the 2020 contempt of court case, he was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment. In the illegal “35+ primary election” case, Wong pleaded guilty to “conspiracy to subvert State power” and was sentenced by the court to four years and eight months’ imprisonment on Nov 19, 2024.Wong has received his just punishment, which he brought upon himself. Since late 2020, following his incarceration for the police headquarters siege case, Wong has been remanded and serving sentences continuously up to the present day.

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The judge ordered that two months and two days of his newly imposed 10-year sentence shall run concurrently with the residual term of his primary election case sentence. It is projected that Wong will complete his prison term in November 2036. It is hoped that Wong will learn his lesson during his time behind bars, reflect on his misdeeds, come to understand his own country, refuse to act as a pawn for foreign forces, and reform himself. Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law, in which laws must be observed and violators must be held accountable. The court strictly and lawfully penalizes illicit acts that endanger national security and cause other harm to society. The sentencing of Wong is lawful and reasonable, and merits public support. National security fugitives wanted by Hong Kong should return and surrender to the authorities, which is their sole way to solve their dilemma; otherwise, they will only wander abroad, bear the infamy of being fugitives for life, and remain permanently estranged from their families in Hong Kong. Young people, in particular, must remain vigilant, and avoid being exploited as cannon fodder for radical political machinations, lest they ruin their own future by breaking the law.

The author is a law professor, president of the Association for the Promotion of Rule of Law, Education and Technologies and vice-president of the Hong Kong Basic Law Education Association.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.