Hong Kong court jails two Tiananmen vigil group leaders for 7 years

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court sentenced two pro-democracy activists to seven years in prison on Friday (Sep 11) after they were convicted of inciting subversion, with judges highlighting their use of the phrase "end one-party dictatorship" in their political activities.

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were part of a group that organised annual vigils marking Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square incident.

Public commemorations of the 1989 protests used to be legal and tolerated in Hong Kong and were seen as a symbol of the city's relative freedoms compared to mainland China. They were effectively outlawed in 2020 when the National Security Law came into force following mass protests the year before.

Lee and Chow, the former chair and former vice-chair of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, have been in custody since 2021.

Lee was sentenced to seven years, while Chow was sentenced to seven years and three months after being convicted last month under the national security law.

They had pleaded not guilty.

"It's a sad day for me as his wife. I cannot imagine that he has to spend another three years in jail, it is really unacceptable," said Lee's wife Elizabeth Tang, adding that Lee would definitely appeal the sentencing.

Chow's mother, Medina Chow, made an emotional tribute outside the courthouse, thanking everyone for standing with the activists and supporting them.

"For today's verdict, you do not need to be overly saddened. Do not lose heart. And above all, do not feel guilty."

Another former chairman of the group and also a former chairman of the city's largest opposition Democratic Party, Albert Ho, 74, pleaded guilty in January.

He was sentenced to five years and two months in jail.

The Hong Kong Alliance, which had repeatedly called for the "end of one-party dictatorship", faces a fine of HK$1.5 million (US$191,304), the court judgment said.

Lawyers for Lee and Ho were not immediately available for comment. Chow, a Cambridge-educated human rights barrister, represented herself.

Li Kwai Wah, chief superintendent of Hong Kong's National Security police, said the trial was "fair, impartial, open and transparent".

China's National Security Office in Hong Kong said the defendants "long incited public hatred, hatred, and defection toward the state in various ways", it said in a statement.

It added that the activists incited the public "to overthrow the leadership of the Communist Party of China and undermine the fundamental system of the country".

Prosecutors had argued the primacy of the Communist Party was enshrined in Article 1 of the Chinese constitution. Defence submissions that the defendants genuinely believed they were acting within the law given Hong Kong's freedoms of speech were rejected by the judges.

"Like many people, I feel they shouldn't have been in jail for one day. It is a very sad day for Hong Kong," said Hong Kong pro-democracy politician Emily Lau.

Since taking effect in 2020, Beijing's national security law is part of a wider legal crackdown that has quieted dissent in the China-ruled city, long considered one of the freest in Asia.

China says the national security law restored order "from chaos" after the months-long protests and provides the stability required for Hong Kong's future economic prosperity.