Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China Vice-Chairwoman Tonyee Chow Hang-tung attends a news conference responding on a police investigation over the National Security Law at the June 4th Museum in Hong Kong, China September 5, 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
HONG KONG 鈥擜 Hong Kong court sentenced a 36-year-old barrister to 15 months in prison on Tuesday for inciting an unauthorized assembly to commemorate those who died in China鈥檚 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in and around Beijing鈥檚 Tiananmen Square.
Activist Chow Hang-tung, of the since-closed Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, was arrested the day before the June 4 anniversary of the crackdown last year.
Police have banned Hong Kong鈥檚 annual Tiananmen vigils for the last two years, citing coronavirus restrictions.
But coming after the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, many activists saw the bans as an attempt to shut down displays of defiance to Beijing. Authorities denied that was the reason.
Despite the ban, thousands lit candles across the city in 2020, and smaller crowds did the same in 2021.
Chow鈥檚 charge relates to social media posts titled 鈥淟ighting a candle is not a crime: Stand one鈥檚 ground,鈥� and her Ming Pao newspaper article titled 鈥淐andlelight carries the weight of conscience and the Hong Kong people persevere in telling the truth.鈥�
Magistrate Amy Chan in the West Kowloon Magistrates鈥� Court said she found the posts and article were meant 鈥渢o encourage, persuade, make suggestions to and put pressure on members of the public,鈥� and 鈥渁mounted to inciting others to knowingly take part in an unauthorized assembly.鈥�
Chan added the assembly caused 鈥渁 public health risk.鈥�
Chow, who represented herself, had pleaded not guilty, saying she wanted to 鈥渋ncite others not to forget June 4,鈥� not to encourage a gathering. Chan said she found the argument 鈥渟imply unbelievable,鈥� adding Chow鈥檚 academic qualifications would have allowed her to be more clear in her writing.
鈥淚t can be foreseen that the public space to discuss June 4 will disappear entirely,鈥� a tearful Chow told the court after the verdict. 鈥淭yranny is greedy, red lines will keep expanding.鈥�
Last month, eight pro-democracy activists were sentenced to up to 14 months for their role in the 2020 vigil. Among them, Chow received a 12-month sentence.
Five months of the sentence announced on Tuesday will run concurrently, meaning Chow will only serve 10 months in addition to her previous sentence.
Statues removed, museum closed
Sixteen other activists are already serving sentences of 4-10 months related to the 2020 vigil. Two democracy campaigners facing similar charges, Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung, had fled Hong Kong before they were charged.
Chow also faces charges of inciting subversion under a sweeping security law imposed by Beijing in 2020. The Alliance dissolved amid that investigation, with police accusing it of being an 鈥渁gent of foreign forces,鈥� which the group had denied.
The former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997 with the promise of wide-ranging freedoms, traditionally holds the largest June 4 vigil in the world.
But commemorations have become increasingly difficult. Last month, top international universities across the global financial hub removed Tiananmen monuments, including the 鈥淧illar of Shame鈥� in the University of Hong Kong and the 鈥淕oddess of Democracy鈥� at Chinese University..
A June 4 museum was raided by police during the investigation into the Alliance and shut, and its online version cannot be accessed in Hong Kong.
China has never provided a full account of the 1989 crackdown. The death toll given by officials days later was about 300, most of them soldiers, but rights groups and witnesses say thousands may have been killed.