Hong Kong Court Convicts Tiananmen Vigil Organizers of Inciting Subversion

Two Hong Kong activists, Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were found guilty of incitement to subversion on Friday, August 21.

They were leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, which organized annual vigils commemorating China's 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The conviction falls under Beijing's national security law, imposed in 2020. A press summary states they incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power.

Each faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, with sentencing to be determined later. The trial for Lee and Chow began in January and spanned 24 days. A third defendant, 74-year-old former lawmaker Albert Ho, pleaded guilty in January. Chow, who represented herself, told the court in May that the law itself was on trial.

The court ruling stated that Lee, Chow, and Ho had all along been hostile toward China's ruling Communist Party and the central government. Judges determined they intentionally encouraged supporters of the alliance to wait for the right time to carry out the goal of 'end one-party dictatorship' with unlawful means. Lee's wife, Elizabeth Tang, described the judgment as unjust and absurd, noting an absence of evidence for illegal means.

France and Germany deeply regret Chow's conviction, stating that "Peaceful advocacy for human rights does not constitute a crime." Chow received the Franco-German prize for human rights in 2023. Taiwan called on China to stop political persecution and immediately release those detained in the case. The Hong Kong Alliance was founded in May 1989 to support pro-democracy rallies, and authorities banned its annual gatherings in 2020, citing Covid-19 policies, with vigils never resuming.