Hong Kong activists Chow Hang-Tung and Lee Cheuk-yan have been found guilty of incitement to subversion under the territory’s national security law….reports Asian Lite News Desk
Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Chow Hang-Tung and Lee Cheuk-yan were found guilty of incitement to subversion on Friday, August 21, under the territory’s national security law, in a case linked to their involvement in organising annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
The two former leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement of China have been detained since 2021 and face up to 10 years in prison. The organisation had played a key role in organising the annual Tiananmen vigils in Hong Kong.
The convictions have drawn condemnation from CIVICUS, a global civil society alliance, which called for Chow’s immediate and unconditional release and an end to what it described as repression of human rights activists in Hong Kong.
“CIVICUS calls for the activist’s release. The draconian national security law must be scrapped, and people must be allowed to exercise their civic freedoms without fear of harassment or criminalisation,” said Josef Benedict, Asia-Pacific Researcher for CIVICUS.
Chow is a human rights lawyer and pro-democracy activist who was one of four vice-chairs of the Hong Kong Alliance. CIVICUS has featured her in its Stand As My Witness campaign.
The Beijing-imposed National Security Law was introduced in Hong Kong in 2020 and has since been used to arrest and prosecute activists over peaceful political and civic activities, according to CIVICUS.
“The verdict against Chow Hang-Tung and Lee Cheuk-yan clearly shows how the Hong Kong government has used the National Security Law. Authorities have also used other vague and overly broad laws to repress human rights activism,” Benedict said.
The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found in June 2023 that Chow’s detention and deprivation of rights were linked to her peaceful exercise of fundamental freedoms. It said she had been targeted for expressing her political opinions.
CIVICUS said the convictions form part of a wider pattern of repression documented in Hong Kong since the introduction of the security laws. It said activists have been arrested over their activities, including social media posts critical of the government, while human rights defenders living abroad and their families have also faced pressure.
The group said protests have declined and several civil society organisations, political parties, social movements and trade unions have disbanded since the security laws were introduced.
“The repression in Hong Kong since 2020 has led to the destruction of civil society, jailing of activists and brutally silencing those who want to speak up in Hong Kong. The international community, especially countries in Asia, must stop turning a blind eye and speak up on behalf of activists and democracy in the territory,” Benedict added.
CIVICUS Monitor downgraded Hong Kong’s civic space to “closed” in 2023, its most restrictive rating.
Amnesty Condemns
Amnesty International has condemned the convictions of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan under the city’s National Security Law, saying they were punished for peacefully commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.
The Hong Kong High Court convicted the two activists on Thursday, with Amnesty describing the ruling as another setback for freedom of expression and peaceful remembrance in the territory.
Fernando Cheung, Amnesty International’s Hong Kong Overseas spokesperson, said the verdict showed how the National Security Law was being used against people who sought to remember the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown.
“For decades, Hong Kong was the only place on Chinese soil where large-scale public remembrance of the Tiananmen crackdown could take place,” Cheung said.
He described the ruling as another milestone in what he called the government’s campaign to erase the legacy of Tiananmen and silence people seeking truth, justice and accountability.
Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, said Chow and Lee had not committed a recognisable crime and had been convicted over their involvement in organising peaceful commemorations.
“The Hong Kong authorities should quash these convictions and end the ongoing persecution of people seeking to keep the memory of Tiananmen alive,” Brooks said.
She described the two activists as prisoners of conscience and called for their immediate and unconditional release.
Chow and Lee were leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement of China, which organised annual vigils in Hong Kong to commemorate those killed during the 1989 crackdown in Beijing.
The annual vigils were banned in Hong Kong in 2020, around the time Beijing imposed the National Security Law on the territory. The law has since been used to prosecute a range of pro-democracy activists and political figures.
The convictions come amid growing international concern over the shrinking space for civil society and political dissent in Hong Kong. Rights groups have repeatedly criticised the use of national security legislation against activists involved in peaceful political and civic activities.
