Joshua Wong Chi-fung, an instigator of anti-China riots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, was sentenced to 10 years in prison under the National Security Law of the region on Thursday for "conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security" after the law's promulgation on June 30, 2020.
Two months and two days of the 10-year prison term will be served concurrently for another offense in a separate case.
National security judge William Tam Yiu-ho first set the penalty at 13 years, and then reduced it to 10 years, considering Wong's plea and mitigation, the minimum term for an offense "of a grave nature" under the NSL.
Wong, one of the founders of the now-disbanded "political party" Demosisto, who is already serving a prison sentence for subversion, pleaded guilty in the High Court on Sept 2 to one count of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign countries or external elements to endanger national security.
Wong was found to have conspired with his fellow "party" member, fugitive former legislator Nathan Law Kwun-chung, and others in Hong Kong to seek support from the international community to impose sanctions, blockades or other hostile actions against the HKSAR and the Chinese mainland between July 1, 2020, and Nov 23, 2020.
"The punishment must fit the gravity of the crime committed. It is also necessary for the court to express the community's abhorrence of the defendant's scheme and acts together with others to collude with foreign forces or external elements to endanger national security, and to serve the imperative of deterrence," Tam said while handing down the sentence.
Tam said that Wong and Law were the two "ringleaders or masterminds" of the conspiracy with others to endanger national security, who persisted with their scheme and efforts to collude with foreign governments and external elements to endanger national security, despite the promulgation of the security law.
At a daily news briefing in Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said that the HKSAR is a society governed by the rule of law, where the fundamental principles are that laws must be obeyed and violations must be prosecuted, and the central government supports the HKSAR in upholding national security in accordance with the law and combating acts endangering national security.
"Relevant parties should earnestly respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law in the HKSAR, cease making irresponsible remarks regarding the adjudication of judicial cases, and stop interfering in the HKSAR's administration of justice and China's internal affairs in any form," Guo said.
In a statement, John Lee Ka-chiu, chief executive of the HKSAR, said that Wong, Law and their accomplices are among the primary culprits responsible for undermining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability, whose acts "not only severely undermined national sovereignty, security and development interests, but also directly prejudiced the well-being of the public and the stability of society".
A spokesman for the HKSAR government said the heavy sentence "shattered the illusion of individuals endangering national security that they could escape liability under the guise of a so-called 'international battlefront' or 'international advocacy'", and demonstrated the HKSAR's firm determination to safeguard national security to the global community.
A spokesperson for the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region also expressed firm support for the sentence, stating that the ruling powerfully upholds the dignity and effectiveness of the security law.
Safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is the highest principle of "one country, two systems", and the office will firmly support the HKSAR government in comprehensively and accurately implementing the legal system for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong, the spokesperson stressed.
