A Hong Kong court found pro-democracy activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung guilty of “incitement to subversion” on Friday over their roles in organising candlelit vigils marking Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
Lee, 69, and Chow, 41, both former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, had pleaded not guilty. They were charged in 2021 and could face up to 10 years in prison; sentencing is expected later.
What the court decided
Prosecutors argued that the activists had endangered national security in the name of human rights. Chow, a human rights barrister who represented herself, told the court in May that the law itself was on trial.
The verdict has been described by supporters as another example of the erosion of freedom of expression in Hong Kong. Mark Clifford of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation said the outcome was no surprise and described the pair as Chinese patriots who were silenced for speaking against the authorities.
The vigils and the charges
For three decades, the alliance organised what was described as the only large-scale public commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown, with tens of thousands attending annually to mourn those killed in China. The vigil was banned in 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and weeks before Beijing imposed Hong Kong’s national security law.
The alliance’s leaders have remained behind bars since they were charged. Human Rights Watch Asia director Elaine Pearson said the activists had exposed the Chinese government’s fears about the memory of the crackdown and called on governments to hold Beijing accountable for erasing Hong Kong’s freedoms.
What happens next
The court has not yet sentenced Lee or Chow. Their possible prison term is up to 10 years under the charge for which they were convicted.
Chow has continued to speak publicly while detained. In a blog published before the verdict, she described being restrained at the wrists, waist and ankles and said specialised handcuffs caused significant pain.
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