Lawbreakers to be ‘held accountable,' China says as US airs support for activist Joshua Wong after nat. security charge

HKFP

a day ago

China's foreign ministry office in Hong Kong has slammed the United States for voicing support for jailed activist Joshua Wong after he was charged under the national security law, accusing Washington of 'blatantly interfering' in the city's affairs.
The Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong on Wednesday expressed 'strong disapproval and firm opposition,' after Washington said it 'strongly condemns' a second national security charge levelled against Wong.
Wong, who is serving a four years and eight months jail sentence over conspiring to subvert state power under a Beijing-imposed national security law, was hit with a foreign collusion charge last week.
The 28-year-old activist – one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy figures – stands accused of conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law to request foreign countries to impose sanctions or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
'Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law, where lawbreakers must be held accountable,' a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said in a statement, describing Wong as an 'anti-China element.'
'The Hong Kong police acted lawfully in handling anti-China forces, and the judiciary delivered fair rulings – this is entirely legitimate,' the spokesperson said.
'The US has repeatedly used 'human rights' and 'freedom' as pretexts to back its pawns, exposing its malicious intent,' the spokesperson added.
'Unjust sentence'
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the US State Department criticised the charge against Wong. He faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted.
'Wong is already serving an unjust sentence under vague national security charges simply for engaging in peaceful political activity,' the US spokesperson told US state-funded outlet the Voice of America (VOA) on Monday.
The activist was among 45 convicted last year under the national security law in a case linked to primary elections in 2020.
'This tragic assault on Hong Kong's future – including the future of Joshua Wong and other activists languishing in custody or exiled for defending their fundamental freedoms – only proves Beijing never meant to keep its promises to maintain Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy and civil liberties,' the US spokesperson said.
'We call on Beijing and Hong Kong officials to stop using bogus national security laws to target Hong Kongers, release all political prisoners, and drop these outrageous charges against Joshua Wong,' the spokesperson added.
'Erroneous slanders'
In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the Hong Kong government also strongly condemned 'some Western countries, anti-China organisations and anti-China politicians… for making erroneous slanders and smears.'
'As the legal proceedings of the case involving Joshua Wong Chi-fung are still ongoing, it is inappropriate for any person to comment on the details of the case,' a Hong Kong government spokesperson said.
The city judiciary exercises its power independently and defendants are entitled to ac fair trial, the Hong Kong spokesperson said.
'We are appalled by irresponsible remarks of some countries, organisations or individuals that seemed to suggest that people with certain political beliefs should be immune to legal sanctions,' the spokesperson added.
Int't NGOs condemn charge
The Hong Kong government statement came after international NGOs criticised the new charge against Wong.
'This latest charge against him underscores the authorities' fear of prominent dissidents and shows the lengths they will go to keep them behind bars for as long as possible – in so doing, continuing a chilling effect on civic activism in the city,' Amnesty International's China Director Sarah Brooks said in a statement last week, after Wong was brought to court to face the new allegation.
'While imprisoned under one trumped-up charge, Joshua Wong has been suddenly slapped with yet another as the authorities appear intent on keeping one of Hong Kong's most influential democracy leaders behind bars. This decision is arbitrary, cruel, and outrageous,' Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a separate statement.
Wong has already spent over 1,600 days in prison since being remanded in custody in November 2020 over an unauthorised assembly charge.
He pleaded guilty to conspiring to subvert state power in the city's largest national security case and was sentenced to four years and eight months in jail last November.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.