HONG KONG (AP) 鈥� A verdict is expected Friday in the case of two organizers of an annual Hong Kong vigil to remember who are being tried under a China-imposed national security law that has stifled Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement.
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were with inciting subversion and face a maximum jail term of 10 years if convicted.
The activists when their trial opened in January and are expected to appear in court Friday. If convicted by three government-approved judges, they likely will be sentenced at a later date.
For three decades, the now-disbanded alliance organized the only large-scale, in China that attracted tens of thousands annually until the event was banned in 2020 following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Observers say the activists’ prosecution and the disappearance of the vigil symbolized the loss of freedoms that Beijing promised to maintain for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The government said its law enforcement actions were evidence-based and strictly in accordance with the law.
Here鈥檚 what to know about :
Pair organized China鈥檚 only large-scale memorial for massacre
The 1989 in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square were one of the biggest challenges to the Communist Party鈥檚 rule in China. The government sent tanks into the heart of the capital city and troops opened fire on the student-led demonstrations in a bloody crackdown that killed hundreds, possibly thousands.
The event immediately became an official taboo in mainland China. But the alliance held annual vigils in Hong Kong to keep memories alive across the border until authorities banned the public remembrances during the pandemic, citing risks to public health.
Weeks after the ban, Beijing imposed the national security law that was later used to prosecute Lee, the alliance’s former chairperson, and Chow, a former vice chair. Authorities deemed the legislation crucial for Hong Kong鈥檚 stability following anti-government protests in 2019.
The alliance in the same month as the pair was charged.
Beijing-imposed security law used to charge activists
Many other leading activists are now also jailed under the 2020 law, including the pro-democracy former media tycoon . Dozens of other civil society groups also disbanded following its introduction.
In the , prosecutors argued they incited others to use unlawful means to topple China鈥檚 fundamental system and central political bodies, including inciting the overthrow of the Communist Party’s leadership through calls for 鈥渆nding one-party rule,鈥� which was one of the alliance鈥檚 core demands.
The defense denied they meant to end the party’s leadership, arguing the slogan was about moving toward democracy and urging the party not to enforce 鈥渄ictatorship.鈥� It insisted the alliance had not asked people to adopt any illegal means.
Chow, , cautioned that if the court fails to gatekeep over the reasonable effects of their statements, it could easily become an accomplice by tolerating the crimes committed by those in power.
Albert Ho, their co-defendant and former vigil organizer, earlier entered a guilty plea in a move that typically results in a reduced sentence. His sentencing is pending.
Observers say trial is a bellwether for city’s civil rights
The government earlier said all accused have the right to a fair trial and the courts exercise their power independently. But critics consider this case and its result a litmus test of Hong Kong’s civil rights and judicial independence.
The existence of the alliance and the city’s annual vigil have been considered key characteristics of Hong Kong under China’s 鈥渙ne country, two systems鈥� governing framework in the past, said Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law.
They were symbols of the city’s autonomy, Lai said.
He noted the charge of inciting subversion was commonly used in mainland China to criminalize the acts of human rights lawyers, activists and intellectuals, including .
鈥淲e can see to what extent the court in Hong Kong falls into the level of the party-led judiciary in the mainland through the criminal verdict,鈥� Lai said.
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