‘Many errors’ in prosecutors’ transcripts of Tiananmen vigil activists’ speeches, Hong Kong national security judge says

2026-01-29 - 12:13

A Hong Kong court has heard recordings of years-old speeches made by two Tiananmen vigil activists facing national security charges, with a judge noting that the transcripts prepared by the prosecution contained “many errors.” The Tiananmen vigil in Victoria Park on June 4, 2018. File photo: Etan Liam, via Flickr. Prosecutors on Thursday began playing footage of speeches made by Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung during Tiananmen vigils after concluding their opening statements on Tuesday. Lee and Chow, who were leaders of a group that organised decades of candlelight vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing, are standing trial for inciting subversion under the national security law. The national security offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The pair’s now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China stands accused of the same charge. A third defendant, Albert Ho, pleaded guilty when the trial opened last week. Prosecutor Ned Lai told the court on Thursday that the prosecution planned to call two police officers to testify at the request of the defence, but added that the witnesses are out of the city this week. West Kowloon Law Courts Building. File photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP. The prosecution then began playing video clips of the defendants speaking during vigils, protests, and media interviews. The clips dated back to March 2018, when China amended its constitution to include the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party as a “defining feature” of the country’s socialist system. Lai said clips prior to March 2018 would not be played in court and transcripts would be provided instead. But some transcripts of the clips played on Thursday appeared to contain multiple inaccuracies. In a clip from June 2018, Lee was filmed speaking in Mandarin: “How to shake up the CCP is certainly not an easy question to answer.” Activist Lee Cheuk-yan making a speech at the Tiananmen vigil in Victoria park on June 4, 2018. Photo: Catherine Lai/HKFP. Judge Alex Lee, one of the three judges presiding over the trial, noted that the prosecution transcribed “shake up” as “incite” in the transcript. The two phrases have a similar pronunciation in Mandarin. Chow, a barrister representing herself, also pointed out a number of mistakes in the prosecution’s transcript, including an erroneous reference to China’s “709 crackdown,” when Chinese authorities arrested lawyers and human rights activists en masse on July 9, 2015. “It sounds like [the transcripts] have many errors,” Judge Lee said in Cantonese, urging the prosecution to fix the mistakes. Defence lawyer Yvonne Leung, representing Lee Cheuk-yan, also said her team noted other errors in the transcripts and would discuss with prosecutors. After the footage was played, the prosecution read out the case’s admitted facts, or a list of information agreed by both parties. The document included details of a police raid at the June 4 Museum on September 9, 2021. The museum was operated by the Alliance to commemorate the 1989 crackdown, and closed in 2021 following a government probe into whether it was operating without a license. Closing notice for Hong Kong’s June 4 Museum. Photo: Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, via Facebook. During the raid, officers took photos of the museum’s interior and seized exhibits and documents, the court heard. Before the proceedings were adjourned on Tuesday, it was revealed that prosecutors were seeking to apply the co-conspirator rule. The rule is a legal principle that allows statements made outside court by an alleged co-conspirator to another to be admitted as evidence against all involved. Judge Lee ordered on Thursday for matters relating to the co-conspirator rule to be handled after the prosecution finishes its case, while the defence made no objection. The trial continues on Friday. For over three decades, the Alliance held annual vigils in Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 crackdown, when hundreds, perhaps thousands, died as Beijing sent troops to disperse demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square. The Alliance chanted slogans calling for democracy and an end to one-party rule during the vigils, which were banned by the authorities in 2020. The following year, the Alliance disbanded after authorities banned the vigil again and arrested its leadership.