A Hong Kong court is set to sentence on Friday three activists who spent years organising public gatherings to remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in China.Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho were convicted earlier this year of inciting subversion under the national security law imposed by Beijing. They could each face up to 10 years in prison.The case is being closely watched because it tests how much space remains for dissent in Hong Kong, where authorities have sharply restricted public protests, elections and critical media since the 2019 unrest.
Activists face sentencing
The three defendants led the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. For three decades, the group organised a large annual gathering in Victoria Park to remember those killed when Chinese troops crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989.The event drew tens of thousands of people each year and was the only major public commemoration of the crackdown held in China. Authorities banned it in 2020, citing the coronavirus pandemic.In August, three government-approved judges found the activists guilty after ruling that the alliance’s call to “end one-party dictatorship” encouraged people to overthrow or undermine the Chinese Communist Party.Lee and Chow pleaded not guilty, while Ho admitted the charge. The three were arrested in September 2021 and have remained in custody for years.The defence argued that the alliance had not called for violence or any unlawful action. Lee said the demand to “end one-party dictatorship” simply meant allowing people to choose their leaders through democratic means.Chow, who represented herself in court, said the verdict showed that pursuing democracy had become a crime and that she did not deserve even one day in prison.
Hong Kong freedoms under pressure
Hong Kong once had a strong civil society, regular mass protests and a relatively open press. Since the 2019 protest movement, however, the authorities have restricted political participation and prosecuted prominent activists and media figures.Several civil society groups have shut down, including the alliance behind the Tiananmen gatherings. In February, former pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison under the security law.Beijing says the legislation is needed to protect stability. China’s foreign ministry office in Hong Kong said the city was governed by the rule of law and that nobody could engage in unlawful activities under the pretext of “freedom of speech and press”.Critics argue that the trial shows peaceful demands for political change are now being treated as criminal acts.Urania Chiu, a law lecturer at Oxford Brookes University in the UK, said the convictions confirmed that even peaceful calls for democratic change in China are now criminalised in Hong Kong.People queued outside the court ahead of Friday’s hearing. Simon Ng, who attended the vigils for years, said the case had affected him personally.“I took part in the alliance’s vigils for decades, the ruling amounts to an accusation against me,” he said.
