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Hong Kong’s High Court today convicted Tiananmen activists Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan of “inciting subversion of state power” under the city’s National Security Law. Chow and Lee, along with Albert Ho Chun-yan, who previously pleaded guilty to the same charge, will be sentenced at a later date and face up to 10 years’ imprisonment.

Chow and Lee were among seven members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (Hong Kong Alliance) charged with different offences under the Beijing-imposed law in September 2021. Both have been held in pre-trial detention ever since, having been repeatedly denied bail. They have been designated prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.

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“This dismaying verdict underlines how Hong Kong’s National Security Law is being used to punish people for peacefully remembering one of the darkest chapters in recent Chinese history," says Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas spokesperson Fernando Cheung.

“For decades, Hong Kong was the only place on Chinese soil where large-scale public remembrance of the Tiananmen crackdown could take place. Today’s decision marks another grim milestone in the government’s deliberate campaign to erase that legacy and silence those who seek truth, justice and accountability.

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Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks described Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan as "prisoners of conscience" and urged the authorities to quash the convictions.

“Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan have not committed any recognizable crime; they have been convicted solely for their role in organizing peaceful commemorations of the people killed by the Chinese authorities on 4 June 1989, " Brooks said.

"They must be released immediately and unconditionally.”

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