Taiwan groups call for Joshua Wong's release after guilty plea

Taipei, Sept. 2 (CNA) Several civil society groups in Taiwan on Wednesday called for the immediate release of jailed Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong (黃之鋒), as he pleaded guilty in Hong Kong to a national security charge that could carry a life sentence.

Wong pleaded guilty at Hong Kong's High Court on Wednesday to conspiring with self-exiled activist Nathan Law (羅冠聰) and others in 2020 to seek foreign sanctions, blockades or other hostile actions against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, according to Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP).

The offense, under Hong Kong's national security law, carries a prison term of three to 10 years, or up to life imprisonment if deemed to be "of a grave nature," the HKFP report said.

Chanting "Freedom is not a crime, Taiwan has not forgotten," representatives from groups including Amnesty International Taiwan and the Taiwan Hong Kong Association gathered outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei on Wednesday to call for the release of Wong.

The groups called on Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against Wong and unconditionally release the 29-year-old, while also urging an end to what they described as the use of national security laws to suppress peaceful advocacy and freedom of expression.

They also called on Taiwan's government to publicly speak out over Wong's case.

Sang Pu (桑普), head of the Taiwan Hong Kong Association, said Wong's decision to plead guilty should not be regarded as surrender, noting that a guilty plea could result in a reduced sentence.

"Inside a huge iron cage, do you plead guilty or not guilty? They were never guilty in the first place," Sang said, referring to Hong Kong political prisoners who had chosen to plead guilty.

Sentencing has been adjourned to a later date, according to RTHK.

Wong is already serving a four-year-and-eight-month prison sentence in a separate national security case involving an unofficial 2020 primary election organized by Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp. He had been expected to complete that sentence in early 2027.

Wong first rose to prominence as a teenager in 2012 while campaigning against plans to introduce a national education curriculum in Hong Kong schools, and later became one of the best-known student leaders of the city's 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement.

He later co-founded the political group Demosisto, which disbanded on June 30, 2020, the same day the Beijing-imposed Hong Kong national security law took effect in the former British colony.

（By Li Ya-wen and C.C. Li）Enditem/AW