Hong Kong court weighs sentences for ex-Tiananmen vigil organizers

Three former leaders of Hong Kong's now-disbanded pro-democracy alliance appeared in court on Friday to contest their upcoming sentences, following their conviction on charges of inciting subversion under the city's national security law.

Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung, and Albert Ho, who once headed the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged in 2021. Lee and Chow, who pleaded not guilty, were convicted on August 21, while Ho had earlier entered a guilty plea, a move that often leads to a reduced sentence.

The trio faces a maximum prison term of ten years. Judge Alex Lee indicated that sentencing would be handed down within two weeks.

The alliance itself was also found guilty on the same charge. For three decades, it organized the only large-scale public commemoration in China for the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, drawing tens of thousands of attendees annually.

In their ruling, the three government-appointed judges stated that the defendants had intentionally encouraged alliance supporters to wait for the right moment to pursue "end one-party dictatorship," a core demand of the group, through unlawful means. The judges said this call carried the notion of undermining the ruling Communist Party's leadership and that the defendants had long held enmity against the party.

During Friday's arguments, Erik Shum, a lawyer for Lee and Ho, contended that China's fundamental system had not changed due to the alliance's promotional work and that the Communist Party remained stable. He also noted that the defendants' advocacy did not involve violence.

Chow, a barrister representing herself, insisted she had done nothing wrong and did not deserve a single day in prison. She argued the verdict effectively made pursuing democracy a crime. "If the law truly has no room for our beliefs, then I would rather be a criminal than be a hypocrite," she said. In a social media post, she reaffirmed her commitment to vindicating the 1989 movement and building a democratic Hong Kong and China.

The security law prescribes sentences of five to ten years for serious offenses, with lesser penalties for minor circumstances. Many leading activists, including media tycoon Jimmy Lai, have been jailed under the law, which Beijing says is necessary for Hong Kong's stability.

The 1989 crackdown, in which troops opened fire on student-led protests in Beijing, remains a political taboo in mainland China. The Hong Kong vigils kept the memory alive under the city's "one country, two systems" principle. The vigil was banned in 2020 during the pandemic, and the former site has since been occupied by a carnival.

The court is also expected to decide the fate of the Pillar of Shame, a memorial sculpture commemorating the crackdown that was removed from a university campus in late 2021.