Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong charged under Beijing-imposed security law for a second time

HONG KONG — Prominent Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong on Friday was charged with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security under a Beijing-imposed law that critics say has crushed Hong Kong's once-thriving pro-democracy movement.

The prosecution was the second time Wong has been charged under the sweeping national security law. He was already convicted in a separate subversion case linked to an unofficial primary election and was sentenced last year to four years and eight months in jail for that charge.

The prosecution accused Wong, 28, of conspiring with fellow activist Nathan Law and others to ask foreign countries, institutions, organizations or individuals outside of China to impose sanctions or blockades, or engage in other hostile actions, against Hong Kong and China.

They also said he disrupted the formulation and implementation of laws and policies by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments, and that the act was likely to have serious consequences. The alleged offenses occurred between July 2020 and November 2020.

The prosecution didn't elaborate on the accusations in court. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

After hearing the charge in court, Wong, who wore a blue shirt and was visibly thinner, said he ''understood'' the charge.

The case was adjourned to August.

National security police arrested Wong in Stanley prison on Friday on the new national security charge and also on suspicion of ''dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of indictable offense," police said in a statement.

Wong rose to prominence in Hong Kong in 2012 as a high school student leading protests against the introduction of national education in the city's schools. Two years later, he became world famous as a leader of the Occupy Movement.

In 2016, Wong co-founded a political party named Demosisto with fellow young activists Law and Agnes Chow. In the 2019 pro-democracy movement, Wong helped seek overseas support for the protests. His activism led Beijing to label him an advocate of Hong Kong's independence who ''begged for interference'' by foreign forces.

Demosisto disbanded when Beijing imposed the security law in 2020. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments said the law brought back stability to the city.

In 2023, Hong Kong authorities offered rewards of 1 million Hong Kong dollars ($127,600) for information leading to the arrests of Law, who moved to Britain, and several other overseas-based activists.

Amnesty International's China Director Sarah Brooks said in a statement that the new prosecution against Wong showed the security law's ''capacity to be used by Hong Kong authorities to threaten human rights in the city is as potent and present as ever.''

''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," she said, urging the government to drop the charge and cease enforcing the law.