A Hong Kong court on Thursday (20\/08) found two pro-democracy\nactivists guilty under the controversial national security law imposed\nby Beijing. They were charged with \u201cinciting subversive acts against the\nstate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee Cheuk-yan (69) and Chow Hang-tung (41) are former officials of\nthe Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of\nChina, an organisation that for decades organised candlelight vigils\ncommemorating the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.<\/p>\n
They were charged in 2021 and both pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n
They face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and will be\nsentenced on a date yet to be determined.<\/p>\n
According to a summary of the verdict shared with journalists, three\njudges ruled that prosecutors had successfully proven that the\nalliance\u2019s call to \u201cend one-party dictatorship\u201d was an attempt to end\nthe leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, rather than merely to\npush for changes to the political system.<\/p>\n
The judges also accepted the argument that the word \u201cend\u201d in the call\nmeant overthrowing and undermining government power. They found that Lee\nand Chow deliberately encouraged the alliance\u2019s supporters to wait for\nthe right moment to achieve that goal by means deemed unlawful.<\/p>\n
Prosecutors had previously accused the pair of using human rights\nissues to endanger national security.<\/p>\n
Lee and Chow were two key figures in organising the annual\ncommemoration of the Tiananmen tragedy, when the Chinese government\ndeployed troops and tanks to disperse demonstrations demanding political\nreform in Beijing in 1989.<\/p>\n
For three decades, the candlelight vigils held by the alliance were\nthe only large-scale public commemoration for Tiananmen victims on\nChinese territory. Tens of thousands of people typically attended the\nevent each year.<\/p>\n
However, the Hong Kong government banned the commemoration in 2020.\nThe ban was imposed several weeks before Beijing implemented the\nnational security law in Hong Kong, which has been used to crack down on\nthe pro-democracy movement following the mass demonstrations in\n2019.<\/p>\n
The law is widely seen as having crippled the pro-democracy movement\nthat was previously active in Hong Kong. A number of activists have been\narrested, organisations dissolved, and opposition political activity\nincreasingly restricted.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong previously enjoyed far greater political space and civil\nliberties than mainland China. The territory returned to Chinese rule in\n1997 after more than a century under British control.<\/p>\n
The verdict against Lee and Chow is one of the latest cases\ndemonstrating the narrowing space for freedom of expression in Hong\nKong.<\/p>\n
Despite being found guilty, both remained composed. Lee and Chow\nsmiled and waved towards the public gallery before leaving the\ncourtroom.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hong-kong-convicts-tiananmen-activists-facing-10-years-in-prison-1787302441", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }