Tiananmen vigil activists still urged end to one-party rule in China after security law was enacted, nat. sec trial hears

2026-01-26 - 11:45

Three activists who led a group that once organised Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen crackdown remembrance vigils continued to advocate an end to one-party rule in mainland China after the national security law came into effect in June 2020, prosecutors have said. West Kowloon Law Courts Building in Hong Kong, on September 19, 2024. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung appeared at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Monday for the third day of their trial. The two activists are former leaders of the now-disbanded group, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. They, alongside the group itself and another former vice-chair, Albert Ho, are accused of inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law. Ho pleaded guilty on Thursday, when the trial began, so he will not be attending the trial. Lee, Chow and the group all pleaded not guilty. The activists face up to life imprisonment if convicted. The prosecution began its opening on Monday after the court finished handling other procedural matters. Government prosecutors Ned Lai and Ivan Cheung read out about four-fifths of the prosecution’s 86-page opening statement on Monday, a significant part of which quoted verbatim speeches made by the three activists over the group’s three decades of activism. An empty Victoria Park on the 33rd anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown, on June 4, 2022. File photo: HKFP. The group was founded in June 1989, the prosecution said. Lee, Ho and Chow all took on board and committee membership positions at the Alliance at different points of time, and it was “undoubtable” that they agreed with – and supported – the group’s advocacy. The prosecution played videos dating back to 1996 of the group’s activists making speeches at the city’s annual Tiananmen candelight vigils, as well as at press briefings and during interviews with reporters. The Tiananmen crackdown occurred on June 4, 1989, ending months of student-led demonstrations in China. It is estimated that hundreds, perhaps thousands, died when the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing. The years of videos showed in court featured Lee and Ho calling for an end to one-party rule, a key focus of its political platform. Lee, seated in the public gallery, was seen wiping his eyes at one point after watching a video of a speech he made at the vigil in 1997. In the video, he addressed a crowd at Victoria Park saying: “Without a democratic China, there will not be a democratic Hong Kong, therefore, our support for the Chinese pro-democracy movement is to usher in a democratic future for Hong Kong and for China.” Lee Cheuk-yan at a demonstration held on January 1, 2019. Photo: Etan Liam, via Flickr. The prosecution played dozens more videos of speeches over the years before arriving at the period after July 1, 2020, the day after the Beijing-imposed security law was enacted, saying that the same advocacy continued. A video from July 9, 2020 was played showing a press briefing at which Ho said the group would “continue [calls] to end one-party rule.” Lee and Chow are seen saying the same in other videos. In an interview she gave reporters in February 2021, she said it would be “meaningless” for a group to continue to exist if they no longer hold on to their core ideals. “[The activists] spread the Alliance’s long-held illegal subversive goal of ‘ending one-party rule’ through chanting slogans, as well as continuing to incite others to join or identify with the Alliance, further promoting, and appealing for support and donations, for the Alliance,” the prosecution’s opening statement – written in Chinese – read. Lee and Chow both appeared in good spirits, especially Chow, who wore a big smile on her face and waved excitedly to supporters in the public gallery. Chow, a human rights lawyer, is representing herself in the trial and was allowed to sit with the other lawyers at their table instead of in the defendant’s dock. Chow Hang-tung. Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. When a lunch break was announced and Chow was moving between the two areas, she said in Cantonese to those in the public gallery: “Wasn’t [Lee] handsome back in 1997?” She was immediately shushed by corrections officers. Transcription error During the afternoon session, the prosecution moved on to its part of the opening statement focused on Lee’s speeches. At one point, after a video was played of a June 2018 forum that Lee participated in and spoke Mandarin, Chow – acting as a barrister – said the transcript appeared to be wrong. In the video, Lee said that he hoped Hong Kong people could speak up for people in mainland China who are unable to voice their views and protest. Hong Kong Alliance leaders at the June 4 vigil in 2018. File Photo: Catherine Lai/HKFP. Regarding whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be “shaken,” the prosecution’s opening was written as him saying that he dare not comment because the CCP “was much more improved nowadays” Chow said she believed Lee was trying to say that the CCP was “much stronger nowadays.” Judge Alex Lee said he also thought he heard “stronger,” but added that Lee Cheuk-yan’s pronunciation seemed to be a bit off. Lee cracked a smile as the exchange was going on. Judge Lee said that they could consult the defendant on what he had actually said, and Lee Cheuk-yan got up to clarify with a lawyer through the glass of the defendant dock that he was indeed saying “stronger.” Also on Monday, before the prosecution began its opening, Lee said the court had rejected Chow’s application for a sociology professor in Taiwan to act as a defence witness on her behalf. Last Friday, Chow had applied for Ho Ming-sho, an academic at National Taiwan University, to testify virtually as an expert witness. Chow said Ho was a veteran scholar with an expertise in social movements, and had studied Hong Kong’s 2014 and 2019 pro-democracy protests. Chow Hang-tung. File Photo: Candice Chau/HKFP. On Monday, Lee summarised the prosecution’s reasons for opposing Chow’s application as three main points: that they believed Ho’s evidence would be irrelevant, that he was not qualified as an expert, and that he was biased. Lee said the judges “respected [Ho’s] academic qualifications and expertise,” and also did not think Ho would be biased. But they agreed with the prosecution that his evidence would not be relevant to the case. The trial will continue on Tuesday with the prosecution finishing reading out the rest of the opening statements, before moving on to the admitted facts, a set of information about the case that is agreed on by both the prosecution and the defence. Lee and Chow have been in custody for over 1,500 days since their arrests in 2021, while Ho has been detained for over 1,300 days. Their trial, which was postponed twice last year, is scheduled to last 75 days. It was already postponed twice last year. Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.