Three convicted of organising Tiananmen Square anniversary vigils by Hong Kong court

A magistrate court in Hong Kong on Saturday found three members of the Tiananmen vigil group guilty of not complying with a national security police request for information. The three convicted were part of a group that organised annual vigils to mark China's 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

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Chow Hang-tung, 38, the vice-chairperson of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China was one of three convicted by the court. Tang Ngok Kwan and Tsui Hon Kwon, the members of the standing committee are the other two convicted.

Read more:Hong Kong authorities were wrong to ban Tiananmen vigil in 2021, court rules

The sentencing is expected to take place on March 11 with a maximum jail term of six months in the offing.

Chow has already faced two prison sentences for organising the commemoration events but she faces a separate charge of undermining the state through her organisation.

She has said the case against her and the others amounted to "political persecution".

"The existence of an independent organisation like us that can check power, is essential to the security of a nation, not a threat," she said in the court.

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While the vigil took place every year to remember the 1989 crackdown by the Chinese government, the new Beijing-backed Hong Kong authorities did not take kindly to the demonstrations in 2021.

The trial kicked off last year after the defendants had already been put behind the bars for more than a year. The Hong Kong government has accused the group of being a 'foreign agent' as it allegedly received funding from outside the country.

Read more: Tiananmen Square Massacre: What really happened in 1989?

The conviction by the Hong Kong court does not come as a surprise, especially after Politburo in Beijing managed to pass the highly controversial National Security Law (NSL) in 2020 amid a sea of protests.

The bill, which is now a law in Hong Kong, attempts to punish crimes of secession, sedition, and collusion with foreign forces.

It was always believed that free speech will be culled in Asia's financial capital after the passing of the bill and that is exactly what has happened.

(With inputs from agencies)

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