▲ Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong is escorted by police in 2017.
"The end of the era of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong." This is how major foreign media outlets evaluated the additional 10-year prison sentence handed down to Joshua Wong, a leading figure of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement, just two months before his scheduled release.
Foreign media, including Reuters, Bloomberg, and the UK's BBC, highlighted Wong's life journey and the political reality in Hong Kong, where symbolic figures of the pro-democracy movement remain long-term prisoners.
The life of the young man, who threw himself into student activism in his teens and was once nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, mirrors the history of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.
Born in 1996 to an IT professional father and a housewife mother, Wong reportedly struggled with school life during his childhood due to dyslexia.
However, as he was active in challenging unfairness, he once organized a protest with friends during middle school over excessively high school meal prices.
In 2011, at the age of 14, Wong co-founded Scholarism, a student activist organization in Hong Kong.
The following year, Scholarism mobilized over 100,000 protesters in opposition to the introduction of Chinese-style national education in Hong Kong schools.
Ultimately, Hong Kong authorities suspended the plan.
In 2014, at 17, Wong became a symbolic figure of the Umbrella Movement, recognized for his thin frame and black-rimmed glasses.
That October, he graced the cover of the U.S. news magazine Time, cementing his status worldwide as a representative of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.
The nickname "Umbrella Movement" for the pro-democracy protests originated from protesters using umbrellas to block tear gas and pepper spray deployed by police.
In 2016, he co-founded the political party Demosisto with Nathan Law and others, traveling to meet U.S. and European politicians to appeal for international support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.
He was subsequently sentenced to prison multiple times on charges including illegal assembly related to the 2019 anti-government protests, and had been serving time since November 2020.
When China implemented the Hong Kong National Security Law in June 2020, much of the political activity previously led by Wong and his colleagues faced criminalization.
Wong's existing prison term was scheduled to end in January next year.
However, with this latest ruling, he is expected to be released in 2036 when he turns 40.
On the 5th, the High Court of Hong Kong sentenced him to 10 years in prison on charges of conspiring with foreign forces under the National Security Law.
Bloomberg analyzed that the sentencing of Wong shows the era of mass protests in Hong Kong has come to an end, symbolizing how thoroughly China has restructured Hong Kong's political order.
Previously in Hong Kong, former University of Hong Kong law professor Benny Tai, who led the pro-democracy movement, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years.
Following the 2019 anti-government protests, the imprisonment and exile of pro-democracy figures, alongside the overhaul of the electoral system, have effectively made large-scale protests that once filled Hong Kong's streets disappear.
Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London, pointed out that the ruling clearly conveys a message from the Chinese Communist Party.
He explained, "It demonstrates that if the Communist Party deems someone to challenge its authority, it can keep them locked away for as long as it desires."
This shift in political reality also aligns with the process in which the high degree of autonomy and freedoms promised by Britain when it handed Hong Kong over to China in 1997 have been reorganized into a ruling order prioritizing national security under Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The international community strongly criticized the ruling, which came ahead of the 30th anniversary of Hong Kong's handover to China next year.
Amnesty International pointed out that Hong Kong's National Security Law has transformed from a means of protecting national security into a tool for punishing dissenting opinions.
The European Union (EU) called the sentencing "politically motivated" and urged Wong's immediate release.
The U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong also criticized Chinese authorities for attempting to silence those advocating for fundamental freedoms.
Meanwhile, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun stated support for the Hong Kong court's ruling and urged Western nations not to interfere in China's internal affairs.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※
Copying, redistribution, and unauthorized use in AI training are strictly prohibited.