Thu Mar 06 16:01:17 UTC 2025: ## Hong Kong Top Court Overturns Convictions of Tiananmen Vigil Organizers

**Hong Kong, March 6, 2025** – In a significant development for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, the Court of Final Appeal overturned the convictions of three former organizers of the annual Tiananmen Square vigil. Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan, and Tsui Hon-kwong, core members of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were initially convicted in 2023 for refusing to provide information to police. They had served 4 1/2 month sentences.

The court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove the Alliance was a foreign agent, a key element of the charges. The judges criticized the lower courts for relying on the police commissioner’s assertion of reasonable grounds, and highlighted the redaction of crucial details as a denial of a fair trial.

Tang Ngok-kwan expressed hope that the ruling clears the Alliance’s name and allows for a future re-evaluation of the 1989 Tiananmen Square events, stating that “Justice lives in people’s hearts.” Chow Hang-tung, who represented herself during the appeal, previously described the case as a demonstration of a “police state.”

This victory comes amid concerns about the erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong since the implementation of the national security law in 2020. The departure of several overseas judges from the top court has further fueled these concerns. However, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung maintains that the judiciary’s independence remains intact.

The annual Victoria Park vigil, the only large-scale public commemoration of the Tiananmen Square crackdown on Chinese soil, was banned in 2020. While this ruling offers a rare win for pro-democracy activists, other prominent figures, including Chow Hang-tung and others, remain in custody on separate charges under the national security law. In a separate ruling, the court upheld the sedition convictions of pro-democracy activist Tam Tak-chi. The colonial-era sedition law under which he was convicted has since been repealed.

Read More