Hong Kong Court to Deliver Verdict for 2 Prominent Former Tiananmen Vigil Organizers
Prosecutors said the pair’s decades of vigil organizing and calls to end one-party rule were meant to undermine state power.
- On Friday, a Hong Kong court is expected to deliver a verdict in the subversion trial of former Hong Kong Alliance leaders Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, who organized an annual vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
- Beijing-Imposed security laws, enacted after 2019 protests, led to the prosecution of the pair; the Hong Kong Alliance, which organized Tiananmen vigils for three decades, disbanded in 2021 as authorities targeted pro-democracy groups.
- Prosecutors argued the activists incited others to topple China's fundamental system through calls for "ending one-party rule," while the defense denied these allegations, maintaining the slogan advocated for democracy rather than illegal overthrow.
- If convicted by three judges, the activists face up to 10 years in prison; their co-defendant Albert Ho, a former vigil organizer, previously entered a guilty plea, typically resulting in reduced sentencing.
- Critics consider this case a litmus test for Hong Kong's civil rights and judicial independence, as Chow, defending herself as a barrister, warned the court risks becoming an accomplice if it fails to gatekeep against overreach.
175 Articles
175 Articles
Tagesschau
They are said to have incited "illegal" actions: Two former organisers of vigils for the Tiananmen massacre in Beijing must be imprisoned for years in Hong Kong. European governments criticise this.
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung led the Hong Kong Alliance, a now dissolved group that held annual vigils at Victoria Park. They were in prison for up to 10 years.
For years, Chow Hangtung and Lee Cheuk-yan have organized vigils for the Tiananmen Square massacre. A Hong Kong court has now sentenced them.
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were found guilty of incitement to subversion. On the island the memory of this bloody chapter of Chinese history had always resisted, but China for six years now has imposed silence on the massacre of ...89 also here
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