Lee Cheuk-yan (69), former chairperson of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China—which organized annual June 4th vigils in previous years—and former vice chairperson Chow Hang-tung (41), were found guilty under the Hong Kong National Security Law by a Hong Kong court on the 21st. The US State Department condemned the verdict.
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were charged in 2021 with "inciting others to subvert state power." They have been detained since their indictment in 2021. During the judge's reading of the verdict, both sat in silence. The court postponed the case to the 28th to hear mitigation pleas from the defendants.
US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Robert A. Destro, wrote on social media platform X: "The United States condemns the Hong Kong court’s guilty verdict against former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance and calls for their immediate release."
Meanwhile, Germany and France issued a joint statement expressing "deep regret" over Chow Hang-tung's conviction and stated: "Peacefully speaking out for human rights does not constitute a crime. Chow Hang-tung and other human rights defenders have long tirelessly advocated for human rights and democracy in China, especially in Hong Kong."
The spokespersons for the German and French foreign ministries said in the statement: "We call for her immediate release and urge Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to respect civil rights and freedoms."
The statement also mentioned that Chow Hang-tung is a highly respected lawyer and was awarded the French-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law in 2023.
Continued Deterioration of Freedom in Hong Kong
The European Union pointed out that the conviction of Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung for inciting others to subvert state power confirms the ongoing deterioration of freedom of speech and assembly in Hong Kong, with the space for independent civil society further shrinking.
The EU’s External Action Service released a statement saying that the Hong Kong Alliance previously held large-scale annual June 4th candlelight vigils in Hong Kong, which attracted more than 100,000 participants. However, since implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, such commemorative events have no longer been held in Hong Kong.
The EU noted that these politically motivated prosecutions, combined with prolonged pre-trial detention and denial of bail, and even repeated solitary confinement for Chow Hang-tung, severely erode the rule of law guaranteed by the Hong Kong Basic Law. As an international business hub, Hong Kong’s historic success was rooted in the rule of law.
The EU urges the authorities to maintain space for an independent civil society and ensure the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly guaranteed by the Basic Law, and once again calls for respect for Hong Kong’s high degree of autonomy under the One Country, Two Systems principle, fulfillment of international legal obligations—especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, as it is formally known, held marches and candlelight vigils for many years to commemorate the Tiananmen Square Incident of June 4 in China. After the National Security Law was enacted, the Alliance dissolved in September 2021.