Two former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigils remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were convicted Friday of inciting subversion under a China-imposed national security law brought under a law that has reshaped the territory. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, who served as leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, had pleaded not guilty after being charged in 2021.
Activists Convicted of Inciting Subversion
In a 216-page judgment delivered at West Kowloon Court, three High Court judges ruled that the alliance itself and its former leaders incited public hatred by advocating an end to one-party dictatorship
in mainland China. The panel stated that any attempt to overthrow or undermine the Communist Party of China’s leadership can constitute a subversion offense because the country’s constitution does not allow Western-style democracy.
Prosecutors argued that the defendants intentionally encouraged supporters of the alliance to wait for the right time to carry out the goal to ‘end one-party dictatorship’ by unlawful means.
Government-approved judges maintained the defendants were not tried for their political views, while the alliance and its former leaders face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail with sentencing scheduled for a later date.
Erosion of Civil Society and Freedom of Expression
For three decades, the candlelight vigil organized by the alliance was the sole large-scale public commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown on Chinese soil, regularly drawing tens of thousands of participants. Hong Kong and Macau were previously the only territories under Chinese administration to permit public mourning of the June 4, 1989 military crackdown, in which military troops and tanks crushed pro-democracy demonstrations in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
The annual gathering was banned in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, shortly before Beijing enacted the security law to address anti-government protests from the previous year. Observers note that the trial symbolizes the continued erosion of freedom of expression and civil society in the former British colony following its 1997 return to Chinese rule.
Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, stated that the infrastructure of remembrance has been dismantled and criminalized, noting that the verdict illustrates how local courts align with mainland judicial standards. The UK Foreign Office’s Indo-Pacific minister, Rosie Winteron, stated that the verdict demonstrates how peaceful acts of remembrance are treated as national security threats, undermining commitments made under the 1984 Sino-British joint declaration.
Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, remarked that the trial’s outcome came as no surprise, asserting that the judicial system had effectively decided the pair’s guilt years prior.
Trial Proceedings and Defendant Statements
The trial spanned 24 days before concluding closing statements. During the proceedings, Chow Hang-tung, a human rights barrister who represented herself in court, argued that the law itself was on trial. Lee Cheuk-yan testified that their advocacy focused on advancing toward a democratic system where citizens can choose their leaders, rather than calling for the destruction of the party’s leadership.
Ahead of the verdict, Chow detailed harsh conditions in detention through a personal blog post, stating she was shackled with handcuffs as well as waist and ankle chains during prison transport. Outside the courtroom under drizzling rain, supporters gathered to monitor the proceedings, though police restricted individuals from bringing sensitive items such as bookmarks bearing phrases commemorating the June 4 anniversary.
With the conclusion of the case, Lee and Chow remain imprisoned alongside other prominent pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong, where the vast majority of opposition leadership has either been detained or left the city.
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