Two Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been found guilty of inciting others to subvert state power under the city’s controversial national security law.
Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison after being convicted under the China-introduced law. Sentencing is expected at a later date.
A third defendant, Albert Ho, 74, pleaded guilty in January.
Lee and Chow “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power”, according to a summary on Friday. Chow told the court in May the law itself was on trial.
Hong Kong used to be one of the only places in Chinese territory where people could gather to mark the deadly 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.
Authorities banned these gatherings in 2020, citing Covid-19 policies, but they have never resumed. This was also the year the national security law, which makes illegal a wider range of dissenting acts, officially came into force.
In mainland China, authorities have banned even oblique references to the 1989 crackdown.
In the courtroom, Chow smiled as the verdict was read out, while Lee showed little emotion as he made a heart gesture and folded his hands to show his gratitude to those in the gallery.
Lee, a lawmaker, and Chow, a lawyer, were also leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance (HKA), which has been described as a “toxic tumour” by Chinese authorities.
The HKA was founded in May 1989 to support students holding pro-democracy rallies. Weeks later, the Communist Party crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square with troops and tanks.
Estimates of the death toll range from a few hundred to many thousands.
Over the next three decades, HKA called on authorities to accept responsibility for the crackdown, free dissidents and introduce democratic reform.
The Alliance’s leaders were charged in 2021 and have been behind bars since.
Rights group Amnesty International has said the case “relies on vague, overly broad and arbitrary definitions of ‘subversion'”.
Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, said Chow and Lee had “not committed any recognisable crime”.
“Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan are prisoners of conscience who should never have been prosecuted in the first place. They must be released immediately and unconditionally,” she added.
Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the convictions showed “how public displays of mourning have become a crime in Hong Kong”.
In a separate case, Chow was arrested in June 2021 for “inciting” the public to take part in that year’s vigil and later found guilty.
However, Hong Kong’s top court overturned that conviction in 2022, with a judge ruling the police hadn’t properly justified the vigil’s ban.
Chow Hang-tung spoke to the BBC in 2021, weeks before her arrest on 4 June 2022.
“I am prepared to be arrested. That is how Hong Kong is now,” she had said.
“I am willing to pay the price for fighting for democracy.”
Critics say the national security law has eroded Hong Kong’s autonomy and created a climate of fear. Authorities insist it is needed to maintain stability.
Among other things, the law criminalises anything considered as secession – or breaking away from China – as well as subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces.
By BBC News
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