US, UK and 8 Other Countries Condemn Joshua Wong Sentencing; Hong Kong Government Accuses Them of Distorting Facts and Smearing

Ten countries including the US and UK issued a joint statement condemning the sentencing of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong in a collusion case, and the Hong Kong SAR government rejected the statement as distorting facts and smearing.

The Chinese Embassy in the UK and the Chinese Mission to the EU both issued rebuttals, accusing the countries concerned of interfering in Hong Kong's judiciary and China's internal affairs.

According to Reuters, former Demosisto secretary-general Joshua Wong, who has been in prison since 2020, was given an additional 10-year sentence on Thursday (Nov 5) for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and is expected to be released only in 2036.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand issued a joint statement on Friday (Nov 6) condemning Wong's sentencing.

The statement said this "once again shows that the national security law is being used against individuals for engaging in political activities and expressing political demands." After severe protests erupted in Hong Kong, China implemented the Hong Kong National Security Law in June 2020 in a bid to quell unrest and restore social order in the city.

The statement added: "We call for the immediate end to all unjust charges brought against individuals under the national security law, and urge China and the Hong Kong authorities to uphold the commitments they have made to the international community and to honor the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents as set out in the Sino-British Joint Declaration." In a statement on Saturday (Nov 7), the Hong Kong government expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the joint statement issued by the 10 governments on Wong's sentencing in the collusion case, saying it deliberately distorts facts and smears.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said the statement disregards facts, openly interferes in the judicial power and independent adjudication power exercised by the SAR in accordance with the law, and maliciously denigrates the Hong Kong National Security Law.

The Hong Kong government strongly urged the countries concerned to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs.

The spokesman said Wong has admitted to committing the offense of conspiracy to collude with foreign or external forces to endanger national security under the Hong Kong National Security Law, and the Hong Kong court handed down the sentence independently and impartially in strict accordance with legal provisions and judicial procedures and based on objective facts and sufficient evidence.

The spokesman stressed that portraying a criminal ruling made in accordance with the law as targeting political expression or political participation is entirely deliberate political manipulation aimed at confusing public opinion and reversing right and wrong.

A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the UK said in a statement on Friday that the UK, together with certain countries, issued a joint statement interfering in Hong Kong's judiciary and China's internal affairs.

China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this, and has lodged solemn representations with the UK.

China urges the UK to stop shielding and glorifying criminals and stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs and China's internal affairs under any pretext.

On the same day, a spokesman for the Chinese Mission to the EU also said in a statement that China firmly opposes and strongly condemns the EU's negative statement on the Wong case.

China urges the EU to genuinely respect Hong Kong's rule of law, stop making irresponsible statements on the handling of Hong Kong judicial cases, and stop interfering in Hong Kong's judiciary and China's internal affairs in any form.