Hong Kong Court Jails Two Tiananmen Vigil Leaders for Seven Years Under Security Law

By Joyce Zhou

HONG KONG, Sept 11 (Reuters) - A Hong Kong court on Friday sentenced two pro-democracy activists to prison terms of seven years and seven years and three months after convicting them of inciting subversion, a ruling that judges tied in part to their use of the slogan "end one-party dictatorship" in political activities.

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were former leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized annual vigils marking Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Lee, the group's former chairman, was sentenced to seven years. Chow, its former vice-chairwoman, received seven years and three months after being convicted last month under the national security law. Both had pleaded not guilty and have been in custody since 2021.

Public commemorations of the 1989 protests were once legal and tolerated in Hong Kong, where they became a symbol of the city's relative freedoms compared with mainland China. They were effectively outlawed in 2020, when the National Security Law took effect after mass protests the previous year.

The case is the latest to illustrate how the security law has reshaped Hong Kong's legal and political landscape, shutting down many opposition groups, silencing prominent activists and drawing criticism from Western governments and human rights organizations.

Outside the courthouse, Lee's wife, Elizabeth Tang, said the sentence was unacceptable. "It's a sad day for me as his wife. I cannot imagine that he has to spend another three years in jail," she said, adding that Lee would definitely appeal.

Chow's mother, Medina Chow, offered an emotional tribute to supporters, thanking everyone for standing with the activists. "For today's verdict, you do not need to be overly saddened. Do not lose heart. And above all, do not feel guilty," she said.

Another former chairman of the alliance, Albert Ho, 74, pleaded guilty in January and was sentenced to five years and two months in prison. Ho is also a former chairman of Hong Kong's largest opposition party, the Democratic Party.

The court judgment also imposed a fine of HK$1.5 million ($191,304) on the Hong Kong Alliance, which had repeatedly called for the "end of one-party dictatorship."

Lawyers for Lee and Ho were not immediately available for comment. Chow, a Cambridge-educated human rights barrister, represented herself.

Li Kwai Wah, chief superintendent of Hong Kong's National Security police, described the trial as "fair, impartial, open and transparent."

China's National Security Office in Hong Kong said in a statement that the defendants had long incited public hatred and defection toward the state in various ways. It added that the activists incited the public "to overthrow the leadership of the Communist Party of China and undermine the fundamental system of the country."

National security law quietened dissent

Prosecutors had argued that the primacy of the Communist Party is enshrined in Article 1 of China's constitution. Defense submissions that the defendants genuinely believed they were acting within the law, given Hong Kong's protections for freedom of speech, were rejected by the judges.

"Like many people I feel they shouldn't have been in jail for one day. It is a very sad day for Hong Kong," said Emily Lau, a veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy politician.

Taiwan's government condemned the verdicts, saying that pursuing democracy and human rights is not a crime. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council, which handles China policy, said in a statement: "The authorities, using national security as a pretext, fabricated charges and conducted political trials, which serve to protect an authoritarian regime."

Since taking effect in 2020, Beijing's national security law has formed part of a broader legal crackdown that has quietened dissent in the China-ruled city, long considered one of the freest in Asia. China says the law restored order "from chaos" after months of protests and provides the stability needed for Hong Kong's future economic prosperity.

(Reporting by the Hong Kong newsroom; additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Kim Coghill)