Hong Kong court reverses convictions of 3 ex-organisers of Tiananmen vigils

Critics said shutdown and the case showed that the city's civil liberties were shrinking despite promises they would be kept intact when former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997

Three former organisers of Hong Kong's annual vigil in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown won their bid at the top court on Thursday to overturn their conviction over their refusal to provide information to police, marking a rare victory for the city's pro-democracy activists.

Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong core members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China were convicted in 2023 during Beijing's crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement.

They received a sentence of 4 1/2 months and have already served their terms.

The alliance was long known for organising candlelight vigils in the city on the anniversary of the Chinese military's crushing of the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Beijing. But it voted to disband in 2021 under the shadow of a sweeping national security law imposed by China.

Critics said the shutdown and the case showed that the city's Western-style civil liberties were shrinking despite promises they would be kept intact when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Before the group dissolved, police had sought details about its operations and finances in connection with alleged links to pro-democracy groups overseas, accusing it of being a foreign agent. But the group refused to cooperate, insisting it was not.

On Thursday, judges at the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal unanimously ruled in the trio's favour. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung announced the decision in court.

During an earlier hearing at the top court in January, Chow, who represented herself, said her case highlighted what a police state is.

A police state is created by the complicity of the court in endorsing such abuses. This kind of complicity must stop now," she said.

Since the security law was introduced in 2020, several non-permanent overseas judges have quit the top court, raising questions over confidence in the city's judicial system. In 2024, Jonathan Sumption quit his position and said the rule of law was profoundly compromised.

But Cheung in January said the judges' premature departures did not mean the judiciary's independence was weakening.

The annual vigil at Hong Kong's Victoria Park was the only large-scale public commemoration of the June 4 crackdown on Chinese soil for decades. Thousands attended it annually until authorities banned it in 2020, citing anti-pandemic measures.

After Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, the park was occupied instead by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups. Those who tried to commemorate the event near the site were detained.

Chow and two other former alliance leaders, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho, were charged with subversion in a separate case under the security law. They remain in custody, awaiting the beginning of their trial.