Convictions Under Controversial Law

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were found guilty of inciting others to subvert state power under the city’s controversial national security law. The court’s summary stated that the pair “incited other persons to organise, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting the state power.”

The two face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, with sentencing expected at a later date; a third defendant, Albert Ho, 74, had already pleaded guilty in January. This case is part of a broader enforcement action on dissent in Hong Kong, where the national security law criminalises acts considered subversive, separatist, or collusive with foreign forces.

Historical Context and Previous Convictions

Lee and Chow were former leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance (HKA), which was founded in May 1989 to support students holding pro-democracy rallies — the Communist Party halted pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square with troops and tanks weeks later. Estimates of the death toll range from a few hundred to many thousands.

Hong Kong used to be one of the few places in Chinese territory where people could gather to mark the 1989 security operation — Authorities banned these gatherings in 2020, citing Covid-19 policies, but they have never resumed. This was also the year the national security law officially came into force, expanding the range of activities considered illegal.

Chow was arrested in June 2021 for “inciting” the public to take part in that year’s vigil, though In a separate case, Hong Kong’s top court overturned that conviction in 2022, with a judge ruling the police hadn’t properly justified the vigil’s ban.

International Response and Human Rights Concerns

Rights group Amnesty International has criticized the case, stating it “relies on vague, overly broad and arbitrary definitions of ‘subversion.'” Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, said Chow and Lee had “not committed any recognisable crime.”

“Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan are prisoners of conscience who should never have been prosecuted in the first place; they must be released immediately and unconditionally,” she added. Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Chow and Lee “exposed the Chinese government’s fears of the memory of its own atrocities,” urging governments around the world to hold Beijing to account for erasing Hong Kong’s freedoms.

Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, described the verdict as “no surprise.” He said Hong Kong’s “twisted” judicial system had already decided the pair were guilty in 2021. He described Lee and Chow as “true Chinese patriots” who were silenced because they “spoke truth to power” and “held up a mirror to the Chinese Communist Party.”

In a personal blog published in the days leading up to the verdict, Chow detailed her treatment by correctional services, in which she described being led “like a dog on a lead,” shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles. She described a new method of restraint, with specialised handcuffs, as the source of significant pain during her long detention.