Hong Kong Convicts Tiananmen Activists, Facing 10 Years in Prison
A Hong Kong court on Thursday (20/08) found two pro-democracy activists guilty under the controversial national security law imposed by Beijing. They were charged with “inciting subversive acts against the state.”
Lee Cheuk-yan (69) and Chow Hang-tung (41) are former officials of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, an organisation that for decades organised candlelight vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen massacre.
They were charged in 2021 and both pleaded not guilty.
They face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and will be sentenced on a date yet to be determined.
According to a summary of the verdict shared with journalists, three judges ruled that prosecutors had successfully proven that the alliance’s call to “end one-party dictatorship” was an attempt to end the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, rather than merely to push for changes to the political system.
The judges also accepted the argument that the word “end” in the call meant overthrowing and undermining government power. They found that Lee and Chow deliberately encouraged the alliance’s supporters to wait for the right moment to achieve that goal by means deemed unlawful.
Prosecutors had previously accused the pair of using human rights issues to endanger national security.
Lee and Chow were two key figures in organising the annual commemoration of the Tiananmen tragedy, when the Chinese government deployed troops and tanks to disperse demonstrations demanding political reform in Beijing in 1989.
For three decades, the candlelight vigils held by the alliance were the only large-scale public commemoration for Tiananmen victims on Chinese territory. Tens of thousands of people typically attended the event each year.
However, the Hong Kong government banned the commemoration in 2020. The ban was imposed several weeks before Beijing implemented the national security law in Hong Kong, which has been used to crack down on the pro-democracy movement following the mass demonstrations in 2019.
The law is widely seen as having crippled the pro-democracy movement that was previously active in Hong Kong. A number of activists have been arrested, organisations dissolved, and opposition political activity increasingly restricted.
Hong Kong previously enjoyed far greater political space and civil liberties than mainland China. The territory returned to Chinese rule in 1997 after more than a century under British control.
The verdict against Lee and Chow is one of the latest cases demonstrating the narrowing space for freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
Despite being found guilty, both remained composed. Lee and Chow smiled and waved towards the public gallery before leaving the courtroom.