Update 25/01/25: In another blow to the rule of law in the city, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal has reinstated Chow Hang-tung’s conviction for “inciting others to take part in an unauthorised assembly” after the prosecution had appealed. Chow had previously been acquitted of the charge in December 2022. She remains unjustly imprisoned for her entirely peaceful actions and must be immediately released.
Chow Hang-tung is in prison in Hong Kong for organising a vigil commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown. She was charged with “inciting subversion” under Hong Kong’s National Security Law on 9 September 2021.
She faces 10 years’ imprisonment, on top of the 17-month sentence she is already serving.
Why? Chow was the vice-chair of an organisation that organised an annual candlelight vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
For decades, tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of people in Hong Kong joined the candlelight vigil on 4 June to remember those killed.
For the last 2 years, the vigil was banned on Covid-19 grounds. Now, brave people like Chow are in prison, simply for commemorating those killed.
No one should be in prison for demanding justice, and remembering the victims of a violent crackdown.
Call on Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah to drop all charges against and release Chow Hang-tung immediately.