Tiananmen Square vigil organisers in Hong Kong found guilty of ‘inciting subversion’

Hong Kong Court Finds Vigil Organisers Guilty of Subversion

Wanderstayfinder.com – A Hong Kong court has returned guilty verdicts against the two remaining Tiananmen Square vigil organisers in Hong Kong who faced prosecution under the city’s national security statute. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were convicted of inciting others to organise, plan, commit, or participate in acts by unlawful means aimed at subverting state power, according to a written summary handed to journalists after the ruling was delivered.

Each defendant faces a maximum custodial sentence of ten years. The presiding judge deferred sentencing to a later date. A third accused, former legislator Albert Ho, 74, had already pleaded guilty in January, shortening his own procedural path through the case.

A 24-Day Trial and Self-Representation

The proceedings ran for 24 days starting in January. Chow, a Cambridge-trained barrister, elected to act as her own counsel throughout. In May she told the court that the statute itself was effectively on trial, drawing attention to the unusual posture of a defendant simultaneously serving as her own advocate while the state’s prosecutorial apparatus pressed its case.

The prosecution anchored its theory on the Hong Kong Alliance’s decades-old slogan calling for an “end to one-party rule.” The court concluded that the two defendants “intended to cause others to lose confidence in the Chinese Communist party by stirring up hostility and causing division.” The defence countered that the Alliance was merely exercising a right to free expression through a peaceful commemorative gathering.

The Alliance, the Vigil, and the Security Law

The disbanded Hong Kong Alliance had coordinated the city’s annual candlelight vigil honouring those killed when Chinese troops and tanks entered Tiananmen Square on 4 June 1989 to suppress demonstrations demanding political reform. Before Beijing enacted its national security law in 2020, Hong Kong and Macau were the only territories on Chinese soil where such public mourning was tolerated. Since the statute took force, open-air commemorations of the event have been effectively prohibited.

The Alliance’s leadership was formally charged in 2021 and has remained in custody ever since. The security law followed a year of massive, occasionally violent pro-democracy demonstrations across the territory; Beijing framed the new statute as necessary to restore order and safeguard the special administrative region’s stability.

International Reactions to the Verdict

France and Germany issued a joint statement on Friday saying they “deeply regret” the conviction. The two foreign ministries added:

“Peaceful advocacy for human rights does not constitute a crime.”

The remark carried added weight given that Chow had received the Franco-German prize for human rights in 2023, a recognition underscoring the international standing of an activist now facing a decade-long prison term.

In London, UK Foreign Office Indo-Pacific minister Rosie Winterton characterised the verdict as further evidence that “even peaceful acts of remembrance in Hong Kong are now treated by the authorities as threats to national security.” She argued that the broad application of the security law to punish and constrain peaceful expression “undermines the commitments China made to Hong Kong under the 1984 Sino-British joint declaration,” and reiterated Britain’s call for the statute’s repeal and full respect of rights and freedoms within the region.

Amnesty International, which has tracked the case since charges were laid, described the prosecution as resting on “vague, overly broad and arbitrary definitions of ‘subversion,'” a criticism echoed by legal scholars and civil-liberties advocates both inside and outside the territory.

As the verdict was read, Lee and Chow waved to supporters in the public gallery. Correctional officers flanked the two at the dock. Lee, solemn throughout, formed a heart shape with his fingers and waved once more before being escorted out. Outside, dozens of police officers directed reporters away from members of the public who had queued for days to secure a seat inside.

Frequently Asked Questions

What charge were the two organisers convicted of? They were found guilty of inciting other persons to organise, plan, commit, or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting state power, under Hong Kong’s national security legislation.

What sentence could they receive? Each faces up to ten years’ imprisonment. Sentencing was deferred to a later date by the judge.

What happened to the third accused? Former legislator Albert Ho, 74, entered a guilty plea in January and was dealt with separately from the two who went to trial.

Why was the annual vigil significant? The Hong Kong Alliance’s candlelight vigil, held each year on 4 June, was the only public commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown permitted on Chinese soil until the 2020 national security law effectively banned such open-air observances.