September 8, 2026 — Five years after Hong Kong barrister and human-rights defender Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) was arrested on 8 September 2021, she remains in custody and is awaiting sentencing after her 21 August 2026 conviction for ‘inciting subversion’ under Hong Kong’s National Security Law.
Update — September 11, 2026: After this article was published, Chow Hang-tung was sentenced to 7 years and 3 months’ imprisonment. Lee Cheuk-yan was sentenced to 7 years and Albert Ho to 5 years and 2 months in the same Hong Kong Alliance national-security case. Release or sentence-completion dates remain under verification. The original September 8 text is preserved as published; this dated note records the subsequent development.
Chow was a leading member of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the organization that for decades helped organize Hong Kong’s annual candlelight vigil commemorating the victims of the June Fourth 1989 crackdown. Her case has become closely associated with the shrinking space for peaceful remembrance, assembly and democratic advocacy in Hong Kong.
Human Rights Watch has called for the August 2026 convictions of Chow and Lee Cheuk-yan to be quashed. Amnesty International has designated them prisoners of conscience and called for their immediate and unconditional release. Front Line Defenders continues to document Chow’s case as one involving judicial harassment, detention and imprisonment.
Why the five-year mark matters
The anniversary is not only a measure of time in custody. It is also a reminder of the personal cost borne by people who continue to defend historical memory and nonviolent political participation when those activities carry severe legal risk.
Chow’s continued detention comes after years of prosecutions connected to June Fourth remembrance and the Hong Kong Alliance. The broader issue is whether peaceful commemoration of a major historical event, public advocacy for democratic reform and participation in civil society can be treated as legitimate exercises of fundamental rights rather than security offenses.
Free China Movement editorial position
The Free China Movement believes peaceful remembrance of June Fourth, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and nonviolent democratic advocacy should not be criminalized. We honor Chow Hang-tung’s courage and sacrifice and call for her immediate release.
A separate formal Free China Movement statement marking the five-year anniversary has been published and distributed to media. Read the statement here.
Update — September 11, 2026: Chow Hang-tung has now been sentenced to 7 years and 3 months, Lee Cheuk-yan to 7 years, and Albert Ho to 5 years and 2 months. See our news report and long-form editorial on 义大于法 and conscience above unjust law.