Joshua Wong, 29, pleaded guilty on September 2, 2026, to charges of colluding with foreign forces to push sanctions and hostile actions against Hong Kong and China during 2020, the Hong Kong High Court announced [1, 2, 3]. The hearing took place in Admiralty district with Western diplomats present [3, 4]. Wong confirmed his guilty plea in court by simply stating "Confirm," the court record showed [3].
The charges cover Wong’s activities from July to November 2020, when he lobbied foreign politicians including Nancy Pelosi and Marco Rubio to pressure Beijing through sanctions and blockades [1, 3, 5, 4, 6]. Prosecutors say Wong conspired with exiled activist Nathan Law and others to build international resistance to mainland China’s policies in Hong Kong [1, 2, 4]. Wong also admitted urging foreign businesses to withdraw investments in mainland China and cut services to Hong Kong police forces [6].
Wong’s lobbying efforts were publicized on social media and in written articles calling for sanctions on China and Hong Kong authorities [1, 3, 5]. These activities came after China imposed the Hong Kong National Security Law on June 30, 2020, criminalizing acts such as foreign collusion and threats to state security [1, 2, 4].
He has been imprisoned continuously since November 2020, serving a 4 years 8 months sentence for subversion tied to an unofficial primary election in 2020, with his current term expected to end in early 2027 [1, 2, 7, 4]. The foreign collusion charge against Wong carries a possible sentence ranging from three years to life imprisonment if the court considers the offense particularly grave [1, 2, 3, 7, 6].
Joshua Wong first gained international notice during the 2014 Hong Kong Umbrella Movement protests and was a leading figure in the 2019 mass pro-democracy demonstrations [1, 2, 5, 4]. He co-founded the pro-democracy party Demosisto in 2016, which dissolved on the day the national security law was enacted in 2020 [1, 3, 4].
The court has yet to announce a sentencing date for the foreign collusion charge, marking the next step in Wong's ongoing legal proceedings related to national security offenses [1, 2, 3].
