Hong Kong: Tiananmen vigil organizers found guilty

The Hong Kong judge ruled on Friday that the accused had violated security laws of the Special Administrative Region. Chow Hang-tung had most recently been considered one of the most prominent voices holding on to the commemoration after the alliance itself had been dissolved. Albert Ho, the former chair of the alliance, was also convicted according to trial observers. Individual charges and the specific sentence were initially not made public in full.

Reactions from abroad

Already the day after the verdict, the first states responded to the guilty verdict. Foreign representations of several Western countries expressed concern about the restriction of freedom of assembly in Hong Kong and the effects on civil society. Observers see the guilty verdict as a further signal that the space for dissenting political voices and collective remembrance in the Special Administrative Region is increasingly shrinking.

The defense had pointed out in the trial that the vigils had taken place peacefully and publicly over decades and had been a central part of Hong Kong's culture of remembrance. Critics, by contrast, accuse the Hong Kong judiciary of also striking at the commemoration of the events of June 4, 1989 itself through the conviction of the organizers. Human rights organizations demanded the immediate release of those convicted and a review of the proceedings.

Significance for civil society

The conviction comes amid a phase of growing tensions between Hong Kong and several Western governments, which have repeatedly objected to developments in the Special Administrative Region. The German federal government as well as the government in France had in the past criticized the restriction of democratic rights in Hong Kong. With the guilty verdict, the debate over possible consequences — such as sanctions or diplomatic measures — could gain new momentum.

Within Hong Kong, the pro-democracy scene reacted with dismay. Many activists see the verdict as a turning point: what once began as a symbolic ritual of collective mourning attended by hundreds of thousands is, following the dissolution of the alliance and the criminalization of its organizers, effectively no longer possible. The authorities' next steps — such as possible further charges or appeal proceedings — remain to be seen.

Outlook on upcoming commemorative days

The verdict also triggered reactions in Taiwan and in the Chinese diaspora. Commemorative events in Taipei, Vancouver and other cities are, in the assessment of observers, gaining added significance, as they carry forward the memory of the victims of 1989 while this becomes ever more difficult in Hong Kong. The international attention drawn to the guilty verdict also underlines how much the fate of the vigils has become a touchstone for the state of civil rights in the Special Administrative Region.

It remains open how the Hong Kong authorities will handle the commemoration on June 4 in the coming years. After the conviction of the central organizers, it is unclear whether and in what form larger public gatherings will still be able to take place on that date at all. Human rights activists are calling on the international community to continue pursuing the issue at the diplomatic level and to advocate for the release of those convicted.