In their decision, the Final Court of Appeals unanimously granted the appeal, overturning three convictions.
Hong Kong’s final court of appeals has dismissed the charges against three former members of the Hong Kong Alliance supporting China’s patriotic democratic movement. The March 6 decision was the first time a defendant in a lawsuit, including the National Security Act, has successfully appealed before the court.
In 2021, the National Security Police argued that the Hong Kong Alliance, which supports China’s patriotic democratic movement, was a “foreign agent,” demanding that the group take over internal communications and documentation. The alliance refused.
The alliance was established in May 1989 when democratic students began gathering in China to protest. For years afterwards, the group organized Hong Kong’s annual Victoria Park Candlelight vigil, commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, 1989.
In 2021, the alliance’s then-Vees Chairman Tony Chau Hang Tung and four other committee members were accused of “failing to provide information in accordance with the (National Security Act) ordinance notice.”
Chou, along with Tan Gok Kwang and Tsui Hong Kwon, were found guilty after the trial, each sentenced to four and a half months in prison. After completing their sentence, the trio filed a direct appeal with the Final Court of Appeals.
In their decision, the Final Court of Appeals unanimously granted the appeal, overturning three convictions. Their decision affirmed the appellant’s view that the prosecution must prove that the individual or organization on which the notice was issued is in fact a “foreign agent.” This is a necessary component of a crime and cannot be determined only on the basis of a “rational basis for believing.”
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He also asked the prosecutor to explain why some of the submitted investigation reports were fully compiled in black ink. The latter said this was to avoid exposing the case to police investigations. The Final Court of Appeal rebutted that part of the report is hidden, leaving the appellant in a position that cannot be effectively defended, affecting the right to a fair trial.
After the court hearing, Tan Ngok Kwan, a former member of the Alliance committee, said, “Justice is in the hearts of the people. Today, we can prove that the Alliance is not a foreign agent. We hope in the future we can prove that the 1989 democratic movement is not a counter-revolutionary riot.”
Tan said Chow’s claims to defend their rights and tenacity during the lawsuit encouraged the alliance.
Chow’s mother, who was in court when the ruling was announced, said she saw her daughter smiling in court. “She always said she was doing what she thought was right. She had no reason to be unhappy, so everyone can feel at ease,” she added. “I hope the world becomes a better place and everyone has to assert kindness and justice.”
Tsang Kin Sing, a social activist who also attended the court, told reporters when Chou told him.
Butterflies and others face multiple fees
The appeal ended in the defendant’s favor, but Chow is still fighting a 15-month sentence to promote the Tiananmen massacre commemoration campaign, including opening up to the public to commemorate June 4, 2021.
After the Hong Kong government enacted Article 23 of the Basic Law (“Protection of National Security Ordinances”), Chou, her mother and others were jailed after being arrested for a social media post related to the June 4 event.
In 1989, after crackdowns on the Tiananmen Square, the alliance took part in the rescue of democratic activists on the mainland. After that, we began holding candlelight all night in Victoria Park every June 4th.
Tan Ngok Kwan, a former member of the Hong Kong Alliance, supporting China’s patriotic democratic movement, will be outside the Hong Kong Court of Appeals on March 6, 2025. ng rui lue/The Epoch Times
After the CCP implemented national security laws in Hong Kong in June 2020, members of the alliance’s standing committee had entered Victoria Park to light candles against rules imposed by Beijing.
In August 2021, police cited the National Security Act and asked the Alliance to hand over its internal documents. In September 2021, the National Security Agency of Police arrested members of the Alliance’s Standing Committee for refusing to comply. Chairman Lee Cheuk-Yan and Vice-Chairs Albert Ho Chun-Yan and Chow Hang-Tung were all accused of “inciting the overthrow of state power.”
The case is still awaiting trial. In October 2021, the government cancelled its registration for the Hong Kong Alliance as a company.
On June 4th, 2019, over 180,000 people participated in the June 4th Candlelight vigil held by the Victoria Park Alliance. Cai Wenwen/The Epoch Times
The court refuses to appeal against the sedative judgment
Also, on March 6, the court issued a landmark ruling on appeal against Hong Kong’s first sedative ruling since the city’s extradition from the UK to Beijing in 1997.
In that decision, the Final Court of Appeals refused to appeal the former vice-chairman of former Power Party Party Tam Tak-Chi. Tam had sued his sentences that resulted from inciting language over eight counts, inciting for intentionally participating in fraudulent assembly, and disorderly conduct in public places.
Tang Ngok-Kwan (L1), Chow Hang-Tung (L2), Leung Chin-Wei (R2), and Tsui Hon-Kwong (R1) delivered a letter to the police headquarters on September 7, 2021, representing the alliance, saying they refused to submit information to the National Security Division. Sung Pi-Lung/The Epoch Times
The judge ruled that prosecutors did not need to prove that the defendant’s remarks specifically caused violence or public disability, and supported the original prison sentence for three years and four months.
The ruling sets precedent that inciting convictions do not require evidence of violent intent, and elicits criticism of concerns over free speech and the city’s ability to prosecute dissent against CCPs.
