On Sept. 2, Wong appeared in court on a charge of “collusion with foreign forces,” for asking democratic governments to impose sanctions, promoting the US Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, and visits with US and European governments.
Wong emerged as an activist at age 15 and rose to prominence as a leader during the 2014 Umbrella movement. Since then, he has been arrested and detained multiple times. Notably, he was arrested and detained alongside the Hong Kong 47 for “conspiracy to commit subversion” after participating in the pro-democracy camp primaries in 2020. He was already serving his sentence of 4 years and 8 months when he received this latest charge.
Wong’s projected release was January 2027. The new charges and trial shows the Hong Kong government’s willingness to charge stack in order to silence him. HRF calls on the international community to hold Beijing accountable for dismantling democracy. No one should be detained for exercising their fundamental freedoms.
