Pro-democracy activists sentenced in Hong Kong
Three pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong who organized annual vigils for victims of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were sentenced to prison terms between five and over seven years Friday after being convicted under a national security law that critics say has stifled dissent in the Chinese territory, reports BritPanorama.
Lee Cheuk-yan was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Chow Hang-tung received a sentence of seven years and three months. Both pleaded not guilty to charges of inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed law.
A third defendant, Albert Ho, aged 74, was sentenced to five years and two months after pleading guilty, which could result in a shorter sentence.
Lee and Chow, who have remained in custody since their charges five years ago, requested reduced sentences following the verdict. They faced a maximum potential sentence of 10 years.
All three were leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which had organized annual candlelight vigils for three decades in memory of those killed during the military crackdown on June 4, 1989, in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. These vigils were notable for being the only large-scale public commemoration on Chinese soil concerning the Tiananmen crackdown, a subject heavily censored in mainland China.
The alliance was also convicted during this case. The trial, which began in January, was conducted before three government-appointed judges, who ruled last month that the alliance’s longstanding call to “end one-party dictatorship” in China constituted unlawful incitement against the ruling Communist Party.
The United States, alongside various Western governments and the United Nations, condemned the Aug. 21 verdict, interpreting it as a further indicator of the decline of freedom of expression in Hong Kong. “The Tiananmen vigils sought only to remember the past and honor the lives lost in that assault,” Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes articulated in a post on X.
During the trial, Lee, a former lawmaker age 69, explained that the alliance’s aim was not to abolish the Communist Party but to empower the Chinese public to choose their government through free and fair elections.
The judges remarked that the defendants were not prosecuted for their political beliefs.
Chow Hang-tung, a 41-year-old barrister who represented herself, stated in her mitigation statement that the 206-page verdict “boils down to saying that pursuing democracy is a crime.”
She further proclaimed, “Believing that dictatorship is wrong and democracy is right — if that isn’t a belief, then what is?” Chow expressed she held “no regrets” about her activism, emphasizing she “would rather be a criminal than a person who betrays their conscience.”
Hong Kong, which was once a British colony, returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 with assurances that its civil liberties would be safeguarded for at least 50 years. Since the controversial 2020 national security law was imposed by Beijing, however, residents have witnessed significant erosions of their freedoms, impacting numerous pro-democracy activists, including former media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
