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Joshua Wong turned 30. He spent more than half of his twenties behind bars. From a 14-year-old student activist to one of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy voices, Joshua’s story traces the dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedoms.

15/10/26, 3:43 pm20 reposts38 likes

Human Rights Foundation (HRF)

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At 14, Joshua helped organize students against a government-backed “national education” curriculum. At 17, he pushed for genuine universal suffrage. At 18, he became one of the most recognizable faces of the Umbrella Movement.

Human Rights Foundation (HRF)

@hrf.org

He kept turning to the mechanisms available to him: peaceful protest, civil society, political organizing, and elections. One by one, those avenues closed.

Human Rights Foundation (HRF)

@hrf.org

Since Nov. 23, 2020, Joshua has remained behind bars. He was later prosecuted alongside 46 other pro-democracy figures in the landmark “Hong Kong 47” case and sentenced to 4 years and 8 months.

Human Rights Foundation (HRF)

@hrf.org

Then, while he was still imprisoned, authorities arrested him again in June 2025 for alleged “collusion with foreign forces.” He pleaded guilty in September 2026 and now awaits sentencing.