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A Hong Kong court is set to hear closing arguments on Monday in the trial of two democracy activists, Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, accused of national security offences, as the case moves into its final stage.
Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, are facing charges of “incitement to subversion” under Hong Kong’s national security law, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Both defendants were leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised annual candlelight vigils in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Credit: Hong Kong Free Press
The trial, which began in January and has lasted 22 days, has drawn criticism from rights groups including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, who described it as an attempt to “rewrite history.”
Prosecutors allege the group’s long-standing calls for an end to one-party rule in China amounted to subversion of state power.
The defendants, however, argue that their advocacy represented support for democratic reform rather than any attempt to undermine the state.
Lee, a veteran labour activist, told the court he held no hostility toward the Communist Party and hoped for reform, while Chow, who is representing herself, said the Alliance’s position was aimed at promoting democratic transition.
The case stems from arrests made in 2021 following the implementation of Hong Kong’s national security law in 2020, which Beijing introduced after widespread pro-democracy protests in the city.
Authorities have maintained that the law is not retroactive, although prosecutors have relied on pre-2020 speeches and materials as evidence.
A third defendant, former lawmaker Albert Ho, has already pleaded guilty in the case.
The Alliance, founded in 1989, was previously responsible for organising Hong Kong’s annual June 4 vigils, a rare public commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown in mainland China.
