Call to end Chinese Communist Party rule does not mean ‘overthrowing’ gov’t, Hong Kong lawyer tells subversion trial

2026-03-11 - 13:26

Calling for an end to the rule of China’s ruling party does not mean “overthrowing” its government and state organs, a Hong Kong court has heard during the national security trial of Tiananmen vigil activists. Front row, from left: Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, lead a candlelit remembrance in Victoria Park in Hong Kong on June 4, 2020. File photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP. The court on Wednesday continued to hear submissions from Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, both former leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, to determine whether the prosecution has produced sufficient evidence to support its case. Lee and Chow are standing trial for “inciting subversion” under the Beijing-imposed national security law. The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. The case revolves around the Alliance’s slogan calling for “an end to one-party rule” in China, which prosecutors allege amounts to breaching the country’s constitution and inciting subversion. ‘Quantum leap’ Defence counsel Erik Shum, representing Lee, told the court on Wednesday that the prosecution must establish that calling for an end to one-party rule is tantamount to toppling or undermining the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) leadership. For 30 years, the Alliance’s call for ending one-party rule was intertwined with its advocacy for democratisation in China, Shum said, adding that China could become a democracy in the future through further constitutional amendment. “Even if the prosecution can prove that ending one-party rule means ending the CCP’s leadership, it does not automatically become overthrowing or undermining its leadership,” he said. “This is a quantum leap.” He also argued that China’s top state organs, including the National People’s Congress, could still operate without the CCP’s leadership. “If the CCP leadership has ended, it does not mean all central state power bodies will break down,” he said. Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen crackdown vigil on June 4, 2019. File photo: Todd R. Darling/HKFP. Prosecutors allege that following China’s 2018 constitutional amendment – which stipulates the CCP’s “leadership” is the “defining feature” of the country’s socialist system – the Alliance’s advocacy has amounted to “overthrowing or undermining the basic system” of China and the country’s “body of central power.” Legitimate demand Chow, a barrister representing herself in the trial, argued that the court must consider human rights protections when reviewing whether the Alliance had incited others to commit subversion. The Alliance’s slogans fell within a Chinese citizen’s legitimate demand for choosing the country’s leadership, she told the court. “This is a goal which every Chinese national has the right to pursue,” she said. “The prosecution is trying to make this goal an unspeakable, unthinkable, and forbidden one, but they cannot provide any legal basis.” In response, prosecutor Ned Lai argued that even a future constitutional amendment cannot change China’s fundamental socialist system under the CCP’s leadership. Ending the CCP’s leadership must be undermining the country’s political system, he said. But Judge Alex Lee appeared frustrated with Lai’s submission, saying the prosecution should not interchange “ending” with “undermining.” Judge Alex Lee. Photo: Judiciary. “You have to understand our difficulty here,” the judge said on Wednesday. “If we are not allowed to make interpretations, then undermining is undermining, ending is ending.” The prosecution previously submitted that the court could understand the constitution by relying on its literal meaning. The three-judge panel said it would rule on Friday whether the case could go on. “This decision will be very significant and carry a lot of implications. The issues are also very complicated,” Judge Lee said in Cantonese as he adjourned the trial. If the judges rule in favour of the defence on Friday, it will result in the immediate dismissal of charges and the defendants’ acquittals. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, who have been behind bars for over 1,600 days since their arrests in September 2021, are seeking early acquittals from national security charges. A third defendant, solicitor Albert Ho, pleaded guilty when the trial opened in January. During the 1989 crackdown in Beijing, hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed as troops dispersed pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square. For over three decades, the Alliance held annual vigils in Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 crackdown, calling for democracy and an end to one-party rule. Authorities banned the gathering for the first time in 2020, citing Covid-19 restrictions. The following year, the Alliance disbanded after authorities banned the vigil again and arrested its leadership.