Jimmy Lai and 7 Others Jailed for Banned Tiananmen Vigil

The unauthorised gathering on June 4, 2020 in Victoria Park

Today Apple Daily founder and chairman Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and seven others were sentenced from 4.5 months to 14 months for their roles in last year's banned Tiananmen candlelight vigil.

District Judge Amanda Woodcock called for stiff sentences as the defendants defied a police ban and the law, and did not seem to care about the pandemic when gathering for an unauthorised assembly.

People were told to commemorate their own way

She also dismissed suggestions the strict social-distancing measures were tools of political repression meant to prevent people from gathering, saying they were in place to protect the community.

"So to defy and incite others to defy those restrictions under these circumstances is serious," Woodcock said. "The defendants wrongly and arrogantly believed their right to commemorate was more important than a serious health risk."

The Judge said instead of gathering in football pitches, the organisers should have held an interactive online vigil.

Lai was handed a 13-month sentence, which will run concurrently with a 20-month sentence he is currently serving for three other unauthorised assemblies.

Lai (left) at the unauthorised assembly

Barrister Chow Hang-tung, formerly a vice-chairwoman of the alliance, was jailed for a year after she was found guilty of incitement and participation, while activist Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam received six months after being convicted of the latter charge in the same trial.

Lee Cheuk-yan, the alliance's ex-chairman, who is already serving a 20-month sentence for unauthorised assemblies, was handed a 14-month sentence to be served concurrently.

Other committee members of the alliance -- Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, Leung Yiu-chung, and Simon Leung Kam-wai were jailed for between nine and 12 months for incitement and participation.

Ex-chairman of the Democratic Party and former lawmaker Wu Chi-wai, who is serving a 10-month sentence over another unauthorised assembly and is also being remanded on a national security law case, saw his prison term extended by four months and two weeks for participation.

The seven were the last group of a total of 24 opposition activists and former politicians arraigned over the annual commemoration of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown that was banned after 30 years, citing pandemic social-distancing measures.

Chow was jailed for 12 months today

During his mitigation, Lai's defense counsel, Robert Pang Yiu-hung SC read out his client's handwritten letter. It said in whole:

"I did not join the June 4th vigil in Victoria Park. I lit a candle light in front of reporters to remind the world to remember and commemorate those young men and women, who 31 years ago in Tiananmen Square, put truth, just and goodness above their lives and died for them.

If commemorate those who died because of injustice is a crime, then inflict on me that crime and let me stuffer the punishment of the crime, so I may share the burden and glory of those young men and women who shed their blood on June 4th to proclaim truth, justice and goodness.

Lord, remember those who shed their blood, but do not remember their cruelty. Remember the fruits of those young men and women have borne, because of what they did. And grant, Lord, that the fruits of these young men and women have borne may be their redemption. May the power of love of the meek prevail over the power of destruction of the strong."

Lai's handwritten statement

Meanwhile Chow, who had discharged her defence team, read out her own statement for the record.

"Let us not delude ourselves that this is all about Covid-19," Chow said from the dock. "While the court sees fit to take judicial notice of the situation of a health crisis, it acts as if the parallel political crisis does not exist... It refuses to see the wider context under which this case happened, in the name of focusing only on relevant and admissible evidence.

"In closing its eyes to the obvious, the court risks making itself irrelevant to the ailments of our times," she continued. "In purporting to maintain political neutrality, the court is in effect affirming the unequal power wielded by the government in instituting political charges against its opponents, emboldening the authorities to take ever more restrictive action that squeezes out the rights of the citizens.

"The sentence on me, however legally sound, will be seen by Hongkongers and the world as a sentence on every Hongkonger in Victoria Park on June 4, 2020."

Alliance's Legal Status Limbo

The alliance was disbanding when it was struck from registrar

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor wants to make sure the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriot Democratic Movements of China  is as good as dead.

Chow was in court today for violating NSL

On Tuesday she ordered the group, which had organized the June 4 candlelight vigils in Victoria Park for 30 years, be struck from Hong Kong's Companies Registry.

But that left a legal conundrum today when the alliance, together with its chairman, Lee Cheuk-yan, and vice-chairpersons Albert Ho Chun-yan, and Chow Hang-tung, were charged last month with inciting subversion, and of inciting others to "organize, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means wiht a view to subverting state power". 

If convicted, the defendants could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison under the national security law. The organization could face a fine and compulsory closure if convicted.

The magistrate presiding over the case questioned whether it is lawful to continue pursuing the national security law case against the group, given its recent disbandment, likening the situation to prosecuting a dead person.

Tsoi is liquidating the alliance

"I am not sure whether such an analogy is proper, but [the alliance] is akin to a person who dies in the middle of a prosecution," Acting chief magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen said. "The prosecution needs to sort out the legal status [of the alliance]."

Law said in all his years on the bench he had never encountered such a problem before.

The case was adjourned until January 10, and the magistrate named former alliance secretary Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong, who was previously appointed the liquidator, is now an interested party in the proceedings.

Lam had ordered the alliance be struck from the registrar, even though the members of the group voted to disband in September.

Lee said deregistering group would not affect trial

When the Chief Secretary John Lee Ka-chiu was asked about the alliance's legal status, on Wednesday, he insisted the decision to deregister the group would not affect the court proceedings.

Well, it did.

June 4 Vigil Group Erases Online Presence

 

The alliance had organized the candlelight vigil for 30 years

The memories of June 4, 1989 in Tiananmen Square and all the candlelight vigils held since then have been wiped out virtually in Hong Kong.

Earlier today the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was ordered by the national security police to remove all of its material on online platforms by 10pm this evening.

The website page now looks like this

And it has complied, showing a message on its website: "hka8964.wordpress.com is no longer available." And underneath it adds, "The authors have deleted this site."

It has also taken down its accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, and noted it does not own or operate the June 4 online museum which is based outside of Hong Kong.

The group had been given a week to comply to the order, which was issued by the police commissioner last Friday.

However, the alliance created a new Facebook account to disseminate information. It now describes itself as a non-profit body. 

The museum was raided last week by police

"The alliance is not trying to defy any order. The police did not ban the alliance from using Facebook or any social media. The police only asked the alliance to delete the messages and content of specific accounts or at specific domains. The alliance still needs a place to disseminate information, thus the new Facebook page," one of the post says.

A police spokesman cited schedule 4 of the implementation rules of Article 43 and said it targeted messages published on electronic platforms that could threaten national security. "The lawful use of the internet by citizens will not be affected," he added.

Last month the alliance was accused of acting as a "foreign agent", an offence under the national security law. Police demanded it hand over its financial, operational, meeting and activity records for the past eight years, but the alliance refused.

As a result vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung and four other standing committee members were charged last week for not handing over the requested information.

Ho (centre) resigned as vice-chairman of alliance

Earlier this week Albert Ho Chun-yan resigned from the alliance as vice-chairman, as well as from two other groups linked to it, effective immediately. He is currently in jail for other charges.

The alliance had already planned to disband after 32 years and will hold an extraordinary general meeting next week to vote on the move.

This is the unceremonious end of the alliance, forced to erase its own existence at the press of a button. 

June 4 Museum Raided, Leaders Charged

The head of the Goddess of Democracy goes into police van

The June 4 Museum was already preparing for this day. 

This morning the National Security Department raided the museum in Mongkok and took lots of material from the place, from presentations of a timeline recording what happened in 1989 in Beijing and in 2019 in Hong Kong, a large cartoon of the Goddess of Democracy, as well as of the late Szeto Wah and former Chinese premier Zhao Ziyang.

FEHD officers shut down museum in June

It will be interesting to see how these cartoons will be used as evidence in court.

The ironic thing is that the museum was already shut down since June 2 this year, when the Food and Hygiene Department claimed there was a complaint about the venue not having the relevant license under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance, as required for public exhibitions. The museum was fined HK$8,000 (US$1,028).

Once the authorities removed all the items it deemed necessary for their investigation work, they changed the locks on the museum to prevent anyone related to the place to get back in.

Meanwhile the group that previously organized the Tiananmen Square candlelight vigils has been charged, along with three of its leaders with inciting subversion against state power under the national security law.

Cartoons of Wah and Zhao were also carted away

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China on Thursday evening said it was told by police the justice department would charge chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, vice-chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan, and vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung, as well as the group itself. 

In addition, Chow along with standing committee members Leung Kam-wai, Tsui Hon-kwong, Tang Ngok-kwan and Chan To-wai were also to be charged with refusing to provide information requested by the national security police.

A police spokesman said HK$2.2 million worth of the alliance's assets were frozen in connection with the case. Documents, computers and promotional materials were also seized. It is believed the police is looking for financial records connected to the group's activities with the New School for Democracy, the Asia Democracy Network, the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group and other organizations funded by the US-based National Endowment for Democracy.

A timeline of 1989 and 2019 was confiscated

Nevertheless Chow is defiant. When she heard she would be charged with "incitement to subversion" she was relieved.

"We should not be dwelling on accusations like 'foreign agent'. But rather, the focus should be on whether there should be accountability for the massacre, and if the one-party dictatorship should be put to an end.

"Let's face these spontaneous demands from the people head-on, and see which side reason is in favour with. With the spirit of those who departed on June 4, how dare we back down? The debate is just about to begin."

 

Alliance Members Arrested and Other News

The alliance organized the annual June 4 vigil for 30 years

Action was swift. 

The day after the group that organized the annual Tiananmen Square candlelight vigils again refused to comply to the national security police's request for information about donors and its operations, the authorities this morning arrested four core members, including Chow Hang-tung.

Chow was arrested this morning at her office

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China said Chow was detained along with Leung Kam-wai, Tang Ngok-kwan and Chan To-wai. A police source said the national security department was also looking for a fifth person but could not find him at his home in Tsuen Wan.

Chow was arrested in her office at around 8am. She was there early as she was preparing to represent Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam in a bail hearing. Ho was one of the 47 people arrested in another national security investigation into the primary election held last July.

"Some people have been ringing the doorbell and attempting to break the door code," said Chow, the alliance vice-chairwoman in a live video she posted on her Facebook page.

Chow's family later said she was handcuffed and taken to her home where the police searched the premises. 

A spokesman for the Security Bureau said in a statement: "Ignoring warnings given, the organization concerned resolutely insisted on refusing to comply with the police force's requirement to provide information... Hence, police had to take action."

The national security police allege the alliance colluded with foreign forces. 

Ho withdrew her bail application today

As Chow was unable to represent Ho now that she was detained, another defense counsel stepped in in Ho's case.

A former journalist, Ho withdrew her bail application during her hearing after the court refused to lift reporting restrictions. 

She had wanted to challenge the statutory restrictions imposed on reports of bail applications, which bar the publication of bail negotiations heard in open court.

Currently the law only allows six types of information to be published in media reports on bail proceedings, including the defendant's name, the alleged offence and the application's result.

During today's hearing, Madam Justice Esther Toh Lye-ping of the High Court refused to lift the restrictions after hearing brief arguments. As a result, Ho withdrew her bail application and was returned to custody.

And in other depressing news, I did not win the HK$10.8 million (US$1.4 million) flat in Kwun Tong, nor did I win HK$100,000 in credit either, as the winners were drawn today.

The winner of the flat was born in Hong Kong between January 1980 and December 1988 according to the first letter of the HKID card, so someone from around 33 to 41 years old.

A Hongkonger won a HK$10.8M flat today

The lucky draw was a bid to encourage people to get vaccinated, only 48.7 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated, and the number of people getting their first jab has dwindled to about 15,400 people on Monday, compared to 30,000 in mid-August.

A second HK$12 million flat in Kwun Tong will be up for grabs if 5 million people get at least one jab by the end of September. Hong Kong is currently at 4.27 million people with at least one dose.

At this rate it will be a miracle to reach 5 million...

Defiance, Resignation and a Sad Milestone

The alliance organized the June 4 candlelight vigil for 30 years

 

The national security police has demanded the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China hand over information about its membership, operations and finances. 

Chow (left) denies group is a foreign agent

However, this afternoon the alliance said in a press conference it would not comply with the letters demanding specifics about their activities and fundraising sources.

"We will not provide the information requested," alliance vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung said, accusing police of failing to explain why the group was being characterized as a foreign agent, and dismissing the demand for information as a "fishing expedition".

"The national security department... is setting a very bad precedent by casually labelling any civic groups as foreign agents and then asserting that they have the power to demand any information [they want]," she said.

Chow, who is also a barrister added: "[Police] did not mention any reason in the letters they gave us... Hong Kong is an international city, having foreign connections is most natural," Chow said. "If having foreign links makes you a foreign agent, everyone here is a foreign agent."

Apple Daily staff on last day, June 24, 2021

However the national security police was not pleased with the alliance's response and threatened fines and jail time for providing "false, incorrect or incomplete" information.

The Security Bureau also chimed in, saying: "The damage is serious.  Action must be taken to prevent and suppress the act," a spokesman said. "To avoid bearing the legal risk, the organization concerned should immediately turn back before it is too late."

Beijing's liaison office in Hong Kong accused the alliance of having "no fear of the law".

"Since the day it was founded, the alliance included subverting state power and overthrowing the Communist Party's rule as its political goals. In the name of democracy, it has opposed China and caused trouble in Hong Kong," a spokesman said. "It didn't show any remorse for what it did in the past, and chose to resist and refuse the police's demand for information."

Directors thanked readers for their support

Meanwhile Next Digital's board of four directors will resign tonight in a bid to have "an orderly liquidation" to serve the best interests of shareholders and stakeholders including employees and readers.

In a statement released today, the directors say the invocation of the national security law affected the company and its people despite having no trials and no convictions. "Under this new law, a company can be forced into liquidation without the involvement of the courts," it says.

They hope the liquidation will enable funds be used to pay the employees who lost their jobs with Apple Daily and pay off creditors. 

Then they go on to thank numerous people, the shareholders, the businesses and service providers who placed ads despite political pressure, their journalists and staff, and the readers.

Lai currently in jail for litany of charges

"Most importantly, we thank the readers of Apple Daily. You put your trust in the work of our journalists and you understand that a free society and free markets depend on the free flow of information. 

"As Apple Daily often observed, Hong Kong people have a collective memory of what life was like elsewhere when freedom of speech was denied. No other rights are safe. In 2019 when Apple Daily launched its program of charging a subscription price for access to its website and mobile products, more than 500,000 Hong Kong people quickly subscribed out of the total population of 7.5 million -- by far the greatest penetration of digital subscribers of any news publisher in the world. 

"More than one million copies were printed of the final print issue of Apple Daily. Loyal readers reaffirmed Apple Daily's editorial commitment to Hong Kong values of the rule of law, open markets, greater democracy and individual opportunity."

The statement then adds: "We are confident that the company's founder, majority shareholder and former chairman, Jimmy Lai, would join us in these expressions of gratitude if he were able to communicate from his prison cell."

Remembering Spavor and Kovrig on 1,000th day

And speaking of prison, today marks the 1,000th day of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig behind bars in China. 

Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau issued a statement saying: "Both men are being arbitrarily detained. We strongly condemn the lack of a transparent legal process.

"Years have been cruelly stolen from both men and their families. Despite this, they have shown integrity and courage throughout this terrible ordeal.

"We are inspired by their resilience as we continue to work tirelessly with our allies and international partners to do everything we can to bring them home.

He goes on to say: "Arbitrarily detaining foreign citizens is unjust and immoral. Sixty-six countries endorsed the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations earlier this year and call for an end to this practice and for the release of all individuals detained for diplomatic leverage."

National Security Police Investigate June 4 Alliance

For 30 years the alliance organized the annual June 4 vigil

 

The crackdown on civil society groups continues now with the national security police investigating the group that for three decades -- up until two years ago -- organized the annual Tiananmen candlelight vigil in Victoria Park, for allegedly colluding with foreign forces.

Letters were sent to 12 members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, requesting information related to the group's ties with foreign groups and the deadline is in two weeks' time.

Chow says allegations are "ridiculous"

This is the first time the national security police is exercising its power to deal with foreign powers and their agents, with the alliance being targeted as an agent.

"The information [sought] includes the member list, the group's financial reports and activities information," a senior police source said.

"We are investigating the relationship between the group and these foreign organizations," continued the source. "We are also looking into whether the group is the Hong Kong agent of overseas organizations and if it received any financial support or donations from those organizations."

Chow Hang-tung, vice-chairwoman of the alliance, confirmed all seven members of its standing committee had received the letters and are seeking legal advice over whether to handover the requested documents.

"But the allegation that the alliance is a foreign agent is ridiculous," Chow said, who is also a lawyer.

Lee (far left) and Ho (centre) are currently in jail

The national security police is looking for details and financial dealings of the alliance with the New School for Democracy, Asia Democracy Network, China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, and other organizations funded by the US-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED).

The police is also asking the alliance about its dealings with Mark Simon, the right-hand man of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.

Among those who received the letters include alliance chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, and former Democratic Party leader Albert Ho Chun-yan. Both are in jail for their roles in the unauthorized protests in 2019.

Just last month, the alliance reduced its standing committee membership to seven from 14, and dismissed all staff members, citing a rapid deterioration of freedom in the city's political landscape.

Police looking for link with Mark Simon

Even though the group has planned to disband, it is in a difficult position: Failure to comply to the national security police's request constitutes an offence punishable by a fine of up to HK$100,000 (US$12,840) and six months' imprisonment.

It is also an offence to provide information that is "false, incorrect or incomplete", and that carries a fine of HK$100,000 and a jail term of up to two years.

June 4 Vigil Remains a Memory

The group that held the annual June 4 vigil has let go its staff

Due to "fierce and political oppression", the group that organized the annual Tiananmen Square candlelight vigil has dismissed its entire staff, while half of the committee members have resigned.

In a statement on Saturday, the 32-year-old Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China said only seven committee members remain, including chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, and vice chairmen Albert Ho Chun-yan, and Chow Hang-tung, who are currently in jail.

"The political environment in Hong Kong has deteriorated sharply in the past year, while the alliance has been challenged by increasingly fierce and obvious political repression. After evaluating the political situation and holding repeated discussions, we have decided to adopt relevant precautions," the statement said.

Three of the committee members are in jail

All staff would be dismissed by the end of July and compensated accordingly, the group said, and they would continue to operate despite drastically less manpower.

"We hope to protect our staff as much as we can," the statement said. It is understood there are less than 10 full-time and part-time staff working for the alliance.

"It is true that the drastic reduction of committee members, the dismissal of all the staff, and the withdrawal of some member groups in recent months will have an impact on our future operations... yet despite all the difficulties and challenges, we will keep going, step by step."

The group's secretary, Richard Tsoi Yiu-cheong said he struggled for a long time deciding to step down.

"It is a tough decision, but we have decided to take this collective action after considering all the potential threats we are facing," he said, adding the alliance would still continue to organize activities, including commemorating Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo on Tuesday. 

"Some of us may work as volunteers when necessary. The alliance still exists, but on a smaller scale. Currently we also have no plans to change any of our operational goals," he said.

The museum was forced to close before June 4

The "operational goals" are: the release of dissidents, vindication of the 1989 pro-democracy movement, accountability for the Tiananmen crackdown, an end to one-party rule in mainland China, and the building of a democratic country.

However, pro-establishment figures say calling an end to Beijing's "one-party rule" would be an act of subversion under Hong Kong's national security law .

But some legal experts disagree, saying subversion has only been committed if a person resorts to the "use of force or threat of force or other unlawful means" to achieve their goal.

The group has been under pressure since the police banned the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park on June 4 for the second year in a row due to the coronavirus pandemic, and on the same day, Chow Hang-tung was arrested and later charged with knowingly taking part in an illegal assembly.

The alliance's June 4 museum was also forced to shut, following a licensing complaint.

It seems it may only be a matter of time before the group may have to completely disband, with collective memories only being individual ones the government intends to extinguish.

Barrister Chow Hang-tung Charged

Chow allegedly incited others to mark June 4 this year

Chow Hang-tung is a 36 year-old barrister and vice-chairwoman of the organizer of the annual June 4 candlelight vigils up until last year. 

She is one of the organizers of the candlelight vigil

However, today she was in a West Kowloon court today charged with inciting people to take part in the banned vigil this past June 4.

For the one count of "incitement to knowingly take part in an unauthorized assembly", the maximum penalty is five years in prison. Chow is accused of committing the offense between May 29 and June 4.

Asked whether she understood the charge, Chow replied from the dock: "Commemorating June 4 is not a crime! I understand [the charge]."

Magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han denied Chow's bail application and remanded her in custody until her next court appearance on July 30.

Not only was she taken in by police on June 4, but also July 1.

She had a message for supporters on her Twitter:

Chow tells people not to give up

"I never expected to spend both June 4 and July 1 this year in a police station. This is persecution as well as privilege -- thanks to the emphasis the Party and the state place on me.

"But on the day of July 1, I am nothing more than one of tens of thousands of Hongkongers who want their voices heard. Arresting me won't succeed in shutting up everyone else. They want to kill the monkey to scare the chicken so then we must let them know Hongkongers won't give up."