A Hong Kong court is scheduled to sentence three activists on Friday for their roles in organizing annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The activists, Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung, and Albert Ho, have been convicted of inciting subversion under a national security law imposed by Beijing. This case is seen by many as an indicator of the shrinking freedoms in Hong Kong amid a broader clampdown on dissent.
Under the national security law, the three face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Ho pleaded guilty, a move that may reduce his penalty, while Lee and Chow maintained their innocence and were found guilty by three government-approved judges in August. They have been in custody since their charges in September 2021.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized the Tiananmen vigil for three decades, held the sole large-scale public commemoration of the event in China. The annual vigil in Victoria Park once drew tens of thousands of attendees but was banned in 2020. The commemoration was a symbol of the civil liberties that historically distinguished Hong Kong from mainland China.
During the trial, the defense argued that the alliance's call to "end one-party dictatorship" and move toward democracy was a call for the people to decide their leadership, not an incitement to illegal means or the overthrow of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. The judges, however, cited this demand as evidence that the defendants encouraged supporters to end the party's leadership through unlawful methods.
The sentencing follows other high-profile penalties under the national security law, including the 20-year prison sentence handed down to pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in February. Critics contend that the law has been used to suppress opposition, leading to the imprisonment of numerous activists and the dissolution of dozens of civil society groups. Beijing maintains that the law is essential for maintaining stability.
In response to international criticism of verdicts under the security law, the Hong Kong office of China's foreign ministry asserted that the city operates under the rule of law and that unlawful activities will not be permitted under the guise of freedom of speech and press. Conversely, legal experts like Urania Chiu, a lecturer in law at Oxford Brookes University, view the guilty verdicts as confirmation that peaceful calls for democratic change within China's system are now criminalized in Hong Kong. The crackdown intensified after a 2019 protest movement, leading to reduced electoral choices and the prosecution of media leaders critical of the government.
In 1989, hundreds, possibly thousands, were killed when military forces suppressed student-led pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.