Hong Kong activists convicted under national security law for organizing Tiananmen vigils

Lee Cheuk-yan, a 69-year-old lawmaker, and Chow Hang-tung, a 41-year-old lawyer, have been convicted of inciting other persons to organize, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting state power, according to BBC reporting. The convictions stem from their roles as leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance, founded in May 1989 to support students holding pro-democracy rallies. A third defendant, Albert Ho, 74, pleaded guilty in January. Both Lee and Chow face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Sentencing is expected at a later date. In the courtroom, Chow smiled as the verdict was read out, while Lee showed little emotion as he made a heart gesture and folded his hands to show his gratitude to those in the gallery. The Hong Kong Alliance spent three decades calling on authorities to accept responsibility for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, free dissidents and introduce democratic reform. Weeks after the HKA's founding in May 1989, the Communist Party crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square with troops and tanks. Estimates of the death toll range from a few hundred to many thousands. Hong Kong used to be one of the only places in Chinese territory where people could gather to mark the 1989 crackdown. Authorities banned Tiananmen vigil gatherings in 2020, citing Covid-19 policies, but they have never resumed. The national security law, which officially came into force in 2020, criminalizes anything considered as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces. Charges were filed in 2021, and the Alliance's leaders have been behind bars since then. Hong Kong's top court overturned that conviction in 2022, with a judge ruling the police hadn't properly justified the vigil's ban. Chow told the BBC in 2021, weeks before her subsequent arrest: "I am prepared to be arrested. That is how Hong Kong is now. I am willing to pay the price for fighting for democracy." In May of the current trial, Chow told the court that the law itself was on trial. Amnesty International stated the case "relies on vague, overly broad and arbitrary definitions of 'subversion'." Sarah Brooks, the organization's deputy regional director, said Chow and Lee had "not committed any recognisable crime" and described them as "prisoners of conscience who should never have been prosecuted in the first place." Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said the convictions showed "how public displays of mourning have become a crime in Hong Kong." Authorities have characterized the Hong Kong Alliance as a "toxic tumour." Authorities insist the national security law is needed to maintain stability. Critics say the law has eroded Hong Kong's autonomy and created a climate of fear. Chinese authorities have banned even oblique references to the 1989 crackdown in mainland China.