Guardian editorial condemns prison sentences for Joshua Wong and Au Kam San

The Guardian’s 8 November 2026 editorial reported that Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong had received another 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to foreign collusion. Wong, 30, had already spent six years in prison and had been expected to leave custody the following January. According to the editorial, limited overlap between his sentences meant he would remain imprisoned until age 40.

In Macau, former legislator and teacher Au Kam San received a 12-and-a-half-year sentence for subversion the next day, the editorial said. It described his closed-door trial as Macau’s first national security law case. The Guardian condemned both sentences and urged overseas governments to seek the activists’ release.

The editorial linked the cases to pressure on dissent across two distinct settings: Hong Kong experienced mass protests in 2019, while that unrest did not spread to Macau. It also noted that the EU and Portugal condemned Au’s sentencing but stopped short of requesting his release, a distinction central to its argument.