Rapid Response — Free China Movement
The prison sentences imposed on Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho do not transform peaceful remembrance of June Fourth or advocacy for democratic change into moral wrongdoing.
According to Reuters, Chow received 7 years and 3 months, Lee 7 years, and Ho 5 years and 2 months after convictions tied to their leadership of the Hong Kong Alliance and its advocacy. Associated Press likewise reports that the case grew from their work through the organization that for decades held Hong Kong’s June Fourth candlelight vigils.
The Free China Movement rejects the idea that peaceful memory and democratic advocacy should be treated 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.
That principle is developed in our new long-form editorial: When the Law Punishes Conscience — Why Justice Can Stand Above Unjust Law.
For the longer background on Chow’s detention and June Fourth remembrance, see Five Years After Chow Hang-tung’s Arrest, Her Case Remains a Test of Hong Kong’s Freedom to Remember June Fourth.
FCM co-founder Lian Shengde has stated: “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.
The Free China Movement 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.