FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Free China Movement condemns the prison sentences imposed on Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho in Hong Kong after their convictions for inciting subversion under the National Security Law.
According to Reuters and Associated Press, Chow received 7 years and 3 months, Lee 7 years, and Ho 5 years and 2 months. The case arose from their leadership of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which for decades organized Hong Kong’s annual candlelight vigils commemorating the victims of the June Fourth 1989 crackdown.
The Free China Movement believes peaceful remembrance of June Fourth and peaceful advocacy for democratic political change should not be criminalized as threats to state security.
“A law can impose punishment. It cannot by itself decide what is just. 义大于法 — justice, conscience and moral duty can stand above an unjust law.”
FCM calls for the release of Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho and other prisoners of conscience, and for the restoration of the right to remember June Fourth publicly and peacefully.
Why this case matters
These sentences go beyond the fate of three individuals. They concern whether public memory, peaceful assembly and advocacy for democratic reform remain protected civic activities or may be reclassified as national-security offenses.
The Free China Movement has published a long-form editorial examining the principle at stake: When the Law Punishes Conscience — Why Justice Can Stand Above Unjust Law.
Our longer background article on Chow Hang-tung and June Fourth remembrance is available here: Five Years After Chow Hang-tung’s Arrest, Her Case Remains a Test of Hong Kong’s Freedom to Remember June Fourth.
Lian Shengde on the principles at stake
In an earlier Free China Movement statement, co-founder Lian Shengde wrote:
“China’s future must not be built on fear or revenge. It must be built on truth, constitutional government, equal rights, and the peaceful transfer of political power.”
Read the full statement: Peacefully Seeking Democracy Is Not Subversion. Remembering June Fourth Is Not a Crime.
Free China Movement
A Free China for a Better World
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