Wong Gets 10 Years; Co-Mastermind Law Stays Free

Joshua Wong pleaded guilty to conspiring with fugitive Nathan Law and others to collude with foreign forces. Today (November 5), the High Court handed him a heavy 10-year prison sentence.

Joshua Wong admits collusion, gets 10 years.

The Sentence Lands

Designated National Security Law Judge William Tam Yiu-ho ruled that the case fell into the "serious offence" category.

One name kept surfacing in the judge's sentencing remarks: Nathan Law. The former Demosisto founding chairman is now a fugitive overseas, wanted by the police National Security Department. Tam said Law and Wong were both the "masterminds" or "principal offenders" and its "foremost advocates" in the case.

Judge names Law and Wong as masterminds of the case.

The pair called on foreign countries to impose sanctions and other hostile measures. Even after the Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, they kept committing acts that endangered national security. They deliberately split their roles. Law kept pushing for sanctions and hostile measures from overseas. Wong stayed in Hong Kong, publishing messages and articles to back those acts and fuel the offences.

Officials Weigh In

Chief Executive John Lee also weighed in with a statement. He branded Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and their circle "among the primary culprits responsible for undermining Hong Kong's prosperity and stability."

Lee laid out in his speech that the group first obstructed the SAR government's push to introduce national education, aiming to weaken young people's sense of national identity. They went on to set up radical organizations, incite students to break the law, and promote Hong Kong independence and self-determination. They added fuel to the 2019 Black Riots and a Hong Kong-style color revolution, leaving a litany of misdeeds.

Steve Li, Chief Superintendent of the National Security Department, said the charge and the facts of the case both involve Nathan Law. He called on Law to return to Hong Kong, turn himself in, and face judicial proceedings.

The Fugitive's Flight

The record speaks for itself. Before the Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, Nathan Law slipped out of Hong Kong for London, and he has been on the run overseas ever since.

Nathan Law fled to UK before security law became effective.

In July 2023, the police National Security Department put a HK$1 million bounty on his head. Law was listed as a specified fugitive under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.

Wong, Law met US consular official Julie Eadeh in hotel in August 2019.

A well-placed source says Law could not be bothered when his good friend Joshua Wong was denied political asylum by the US Consulate. He fled to the United Kingdom anyway and applied for political asylum the moment he landed.

Once Law had the aura of political refugee status, the cash followed. He gives interviews to US and Western media from time to time, and he opened an account on an online subscription platform to rake in money, milking political patronage for all it is worth.

Charged, Then Abandoned

Some media outlets had earlier reported that a female comrade close to Joshua Wong had been "taken over" by Nathan Law.

Wong, the so-called "good brother," stayed in Hong Kong to face the legal consequences. He now has another 10 years in prison ahead of him and will not taste freedom again until middle age. Law, the "good comrade," gave a flawless performance of sending others charging in while slipping away himself.

But the facts unearthed in these cases tell a different story. Joshua Wong is no hero ready to die for his political ideals.

The day the US Consulate turned him away at the door said it all. Washington weighed the pros and cons, decided that helping Wong and his crew would do more harm than good, and without a second thought wrote them off as "discarded pawns" with no value left to exploit.

A Warning for Youth

The well-informed source traced the arc. At 15, Joshua Wong founded Scholarism to fight national education. At 30, he faces a long stretch behind bars for crimes including colluding with external forces, subverting state power and unlawful assembly.

His good friend Nathan Law, meanwhile, is still on the run. Wanted and living in exile, he has cut ties with all his relatives.

The stories of the two men are warning enough for young people today. Think carefully, and tell right from wrong. Never fall for the lies of so-called political advocates and wreck your own future.

Ariel

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

The National Security Department of the Police Force launched an enforcement operation on October 6. Officers arrested a man and a woman in Kwun Tong District and Tsim Sha Tsui District respectively, both aged 38.

The arrested persons are suspected of violating Section 24 of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, namely the offence of "doing an act with a seditious intention." Sources indicate that the arrested man is Wong Ka-ho, a former member of the localist group "North District Dynamic." The other arrested person is his girlfriend.

It is understood that during the black violence period, someone set up a social media page named "YellowInsurance," covering platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. While promoting insurance business, the page repeatedly published posts supporting the black violence and expressing solidarity with "brothers and sisters."

It also spread messages smearing the Central Authorities and the SAR Government, promoting "Hong Kong independence," and attempting to incite public hatred toward the Central Authorities and the SAR Government.

After the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, this page shifted to continuously inciting through "soft resistance" tactics. It used hashtags or so-called "acrostic poems" and other obscure "edge ball" forms to disseminate anti-China and pro-riot messages and incite "Hong Kong independence." It also promoted the black violence song "Glory to Hong Kong," various yellow shops, and participation in the "yellow economic circle" mobile application "Punish Mee," in an attempt to imperceptibly poison the general public.

Using hashtags or so-called "acrostic poems" and other obscure forms to disseminate messages. (Online image)

The page involved claimed that it could arrange various types of insurance for customers, yet did not disclose the identity of the person in charge or the relevant licence status. An insider's analysis pointed out that this operating method lacked transparency.

The page imitated the operating model of the "yellow economic circle" and hinted in its posts that it was run by anti-government "yellow people," thereby using the political halo to attract yellow-camp consumers to take out insurance through its platform and earn insurance commissions for profit.

Sources say the two arrested individuals are suspected of managing these pages. Wong Ka-ho claimed to work as a financial adviser at a local investment company and holds an insurance intermediary licence. The arrested girlfriend does not work in the insurance industry and does not hold an insurance intermediary licence, and is suspected of having been instigated by Wong Ka-ho to help manage social media.

Under the Insurance Ordinance, selling insurance without a licence or taking part in related regulated activities is a criminal offence. That includes making applications or providing advice on insurance contracts.

Founded in 2015, "North District Dynamic" repeatedly launched and joined protests against parallel traders. Wong Ka-ho was active in those activities and ran in the District Council election that same year for "North District Dynamic", but the pro-democracy camp at the time accused him of "splitting the vote".

In November 2016, Wong and several former members of Demosisto and the League of Social Democrats joined a march against the NPC's interpretation of the Basic Law. He was later arrested for surrounding the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government building and throwing hard objects at police.

In March 2020, Wong Ka-ho and Lui Chi-hang, one of those convicted in the "35+ subversion case", went to MTR Fanling Station to disrupt a signature street booth organized by citizens in "support of Article 23 legislation". The move triggered a pushing and shoving incident involving more than 20 people from both sides.

Reports at the time said Wong and his associates livestreamed the process online during the incident and afterwards shared photos of their own injuries online to court sympathy, and were accused of premeditation.

The "yellow economic circle" broadly refers to the economic activities of so-called "mutual support among brothers and sisters" initiated by some anti-China, destabilizing elements after the 2019 black violence. A senior figure pointed out that in essence it is about amassing wealth by inciting hatred and social confrontation, which both endangers national security and damages Hong Kong's economy and prosperity and stability.

After the Hong Kong National Security Law took effect, the forces concerned still hide in the community, poisoning the public through "soft resistance" to seek private gain, planting major hidden dangers for Hong Kong's long-term stability and prosperous development.

According to records, many people who took part in anti-government activities during the 2019 black violence hoped to profit through the "yellow economic circle".

For example, Chu Kong-wai is suspected of promoting MPF schemes without an MPF intermediary licence. He marketed MPF consolidation schemes on social platforms and through other channels as a "financial adviser", calling on "brothers and sisters" to let his team manage their MPF accounts and claiming they could obtain ideal returns. He was criticized for disregarding clients' potential financial losses.

Chu was attached to Manulife senior branch manager Lee Chun-wah. Before entering the insurance industry, Lee had been a male PE teacher at a secondary school, during which time he associated with a 14-year-old underage girl and once sat on the back of a half-naked girl to take photos, involving indecency toward an underage girl.

He was later revealed to possess nearly a hundred pornographic photos and videos of another girl at the school. He was ultimately convicted on two counts of committing indecent acts against a child under 16 and possession of child pornography.

Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung mentioned in a radio program a few days ago that Hong Kong currently still faces four major national security risks. They include smearing by external forces, local terrorist activities, those who have absconded overseas continuing to advocate "Hong Kong independence", and hidden "soft resistance". He said bluntly that the most evil thing is "soft resistance", because it may not be very obvious.

The expert points out that this case proves the national security risks from "soft resistance" still exist. The acts in the case are suspected of violating "doing an act with a seditious intention," a serious offence that carries a maximum penalty of 7 years' imprisonment on first conviction.

The expert believes the police will continue to ensure that laws are observed and strictly enforced and that lawbreakers are prosecuted. The force will effectively prevent, stop and punish any acts and activities endangering national security in accordance with the law.