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A hong kong The court on Monday rejected an attempt to quash the indictment of a former Tiananmen vigil organizer, setting forth a landmark case that is widely seen as part of a years-long crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement.
Chow Hang-tung, former leader of the group that organized the decades-old vigil ChinaAction on pro-democracy protesters in 1989 BeijingHe was charged with inciting subversion at Tiananmen Square in 2021, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He was charged along with two other former leaders of the group, Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan.
His case was brought under the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 to suppress massive anti-government protests in 2019. All three were accused of inciting others to challenge the leadership. Communist Party By illegal means.
Chow, a barrister who is defending herself, said the indictment was unacceptably vague because authorities did not specify unlawful means. He said it could be a “catch-all charge”.
Prosecutor Ned Lai argued that illegal means went against the Chinese constitution, which stipulates that party leadership is a defining characteristic of socialism with Chinese characteristics and that harming the socialist system is prohibited.
A three-judge panel approved by the government to oversee the case ruled against Chow. Judge Alex Lee said the panel would issue an opinion in January.
When Chow learned of the verdict, she appeared calm and smiled in the public gallery before leaving the courtroom.
The Tiananmen vigil, organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, was the only large-scale public commemoration of the 1989 crackdown in China for decades, until authorities banned it in 2020, citing anti-pandemic measures.
Pressure on the group increased as police began investigating allegations that it was acting on behalf of pro-democracy groups abroad. The group rejected the allegations and refused to cooperate. Chow, Ho and Lee were later charged with violations national security law,
In 2021, members of the coalition voted for dissolution.
Chow and two other core members of the group were convicted of failing to provide information to authorities in 2023 and each received a sentence of 4 1/2 months. But in March, all three got their convictions overturned in the city’s top court, a rare court victory for the city’s pro-democracy activists.
A trial in the national security trial is scheduled for January 22.
Since pandemic-era gathering restrictions were lifted, a carnival showcasing Chinese food and products on the Tiananmen anniversary has been held at the park where the vigil was previously held.