Top Republican condemns sentencing of ‘hero’ Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong

Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), the chair of the House Select Committee on China, condemned China’s sentencing of activist Joshua Wong, calling him a “hero.”

A Hong Kong court sentenced Wong to 10 more years in prison under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

“Joshua Wong is a hero who has stood up to an authoritarian superpower. Joshua only pleaded guilty to the baseless charge of foreign collusion because of the CCP’s systematic erosion of Hong Kong’s judicial independence. In return, the CCP has effectively sentenced him under its repressive National Security Law,” Moolenaar wrote in a statement , using an abbreviation for the Chinese Communist Party.

The Michigan Republican blasted the sentencing as “a shameless display of the CCP’s complete disregard for the universal human rights of life and liberty endowed to all of us by our Creator.”

He added that the international community’s support is needed “now more than ever” and demanded Wong be released “and reunited with his family.”

Moolenaar sponsored the activist for the Defending Freedoms Project at the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in Congress, which shows support for international prisoners “unjustly imprisoned for their identity, beliefs, or peaceful expression,” according to the lawmaker .

Wong, 30, led student protests as a teenager as part of international efforts for the democracy movement in Hong Kong. He was expected to be released in January after already serving a more than four year prison sentence in connection with a prior massive national security case in the city.

He received more charges, including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, in 2025.

The U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong said in a statement that Wong has been “unjustly imprisoned” since late 2020 and accused Beijing of going to “extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate for fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told reporters in Beijing that Wong had pleaded guilty and that “relevant parties” should stop making remarks about the city’s judicial proceedings and not interfere.

The Hong Kong activist was the subject of the 2017 Netflix documentary “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower,” which focused on his founding of the Scholarism movement against pro-Chinese propaganda and his role in the Umbrella Movement protests in 2014, along with the launch of the pro-democracy political party Demosisto, The Independent reported.

After a pro-Beijing newspaper accused the documentary for “beautifying” his crimes, it reached the top of Netflix’s most-watched list in Hong Kong.