Hong Kong Court Jails Three Tiananmen Vigil Activists for Inciting Subversion

A Hong Kong court sentenced three pro-democracy activists to prison terms ranging from five to seven years for organizing vigils commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Two activists received seven-year sentences, and a third received five years. Judges accused them of violating China’s constitution by calling for an end to one-party dictatorship. The Commissioner's Office firmly supports the sentencing in the "Hong Kong Alliance" case and condemns external interference. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, received seven years, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, received seven years and three months.

Both had pleaded not guilty to inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law. Albert Ho, 74, a former lawmaker, received five years and two months after pleading guilty in January. All three were leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which for three decades held annual candlelight vigils for those killed on June 4, 1989.

The Alliance itself was fined 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars ($190,000). The vigils were the only large-scale public commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown on Chinese soil. The trial, heard by three government-appointed judges, ruled last month that the Alliance’s call to end one-party dictatorship was unlawful incitement to overthrow the Communist Party. Relatives and friends of the jailed activists called the sentences totally unjust, and two defendants plan to appeal.

The United States, other Western governments, and UN human rights officials condemned the Aug. 21 verdict, with Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes stating the vigils sought only to remember the past.