Il Nuovo Postiglione - Hong Kong to sentence Tiananmen vigil activists for subversion

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, Chow Hang-tung, 41, and Albert Ho, 74 have been behind bars since they were charged in 2021 and face up to 10 years in jail.

Their conviction, under a national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 following huge pro-democracy protests, was condemned by the United Nations, rights groups and several foreign governments.

A court ruled in August that the activists had breached the Chinese constitution by calling for an "end to one-party dictatorship".

Lee and Chow, who had pleaded not guilty, committed acts that constituted "overthrowing or undermining the basic system... established by the Constitution" of China, the judges said.

Ho, a former lawmaker, pleaded guilty in January. A guilty plea typically results in a reduced sentence.

Chow, a barrister who is representing herself, told a hearing last month that she rejected the convictions, adding that she had "nothing to repent for".

Erik Shum, defence lawyer representing Lee and Ho, argued that they should receive a lighter sentence as they had merely engaged in "peaceful, non-violent" advocacy.

Hong Kong and Macau were formerly the only places on Chinese soil that permitted public vigils to mourn those killed on June 4, 1989, when Beijing sent troops and tanks to crush protests calling for political reform in and around the capital's Tiananmen Square.

But public commemoration has been effectively banned in Hong Kong since the Beijing-imposed security law took effect.

The trio were leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance, the group that organised annual vigils in the city's Victoria Park.

- 'Erase memories' -

The group also operated a museum dedicated to the crackdown and held events including a yearly washing of the "Pillar of Shame" -- a statue to mourn victims.

The statue was dismantled and removed from its longtime perch at the University of Hong Kong in late 2021, and other local universities followed suit with similar objects.

Prosecutors have argued that evidence in the case, including the statue and archives from the Hong Kong Alliance's museum, should be confiscated.

Ahead of Friday's sentencing, Chow said that "the authorities' true intentions were finally laid bare".

"This prosecution is an attempt to erase memories, particularly those of June 4, by reading too much into certain slogans," she said.

The Danish artist behind "Pillar of Shame", Jens Galschiot, called the outcome of the trial and the statue's potential confiscation "outrageous".

"This is an attack on my private ownership and my artist's work they do if they confiscate it," he told AFP.

The statue tells the story of Tiananmen, said Galschiot, who has for years sought to reclaim his work.

If it were destroyed, that would also "destroy the story that everybody should know".

F.dAmico--INP