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Three Tiananmen organizers jailed up to 87 months
Three former leaders of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigil group received prison sentences for inciting subversion.
What happened
A Hong Kong court sentenced former Tiananmen vigil leaders Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho after convictions for inciting subversion. The court linked the charge to calls for an end to one-party dictatorship. The disbanded Hong Kong Alliance was fined in the same case.
Numbers
- 87 monthsChow Hang-tung’s prison term — Longest sentence imposed
- 84 monthsLee Cheuk-yan’s prison term — He pleaded not guilty
- 62 monthsAlbert Ho’s prison term — He pleaded guilty
Questions
- Why were they convicted?
- Judges ruled that calls to end one-party dictatorship encouraged overthrowing or undermining Communist Party rule in mainland China.
- What did the alliance organise?
- The group held annual public vigils in Victoria Park commemorating those killed in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square crackdown.
- What changed for the vigils?
- Authorities banned the gathering during the pandemic, and the annual public commemoration has not resumed since then.
- Will the sentences be challenged?
- Lee’s wife announced that he plans to appeal; coverage gave no equivalent appeal plan for Chow or Ho.
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Support and opposition
Who supports this, and why
Hong Kong authorities — Calls to end one-party rule can amount to inciting subversion and require penalties to uphold the rule of law.