The top court in Hong Kong overturned the convictions of three former organizers of an annual Tiananmen Square vigil for refusing to provide information to police, a rare victory for pro-democracy activists. The activists were convicted in 2023 during Beijing’s crackdown on local pro-democracy movements and served their 4 1/2 month sentences. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, known for organizing candlelight vigils, disbanded in 2021 under pressure from China’s national security law. Critics argued that civil liberties in Hong Kong were diminishing despite promises made during the city’s handover to China in 1997. The activists had refused to cooperate with police, who accused them of being foreign agents. The Court of Final Appeal ruled in their favor, stating that the prosecution failed to prove the alliance’s status as a foreign agent. The judges highlighted issues with redacted evidence in the lower court trial, deeming it unfair. Tang Ngok-kwan expressed hope that the ruling proved the alliance was not a foreign agent and that they could show the 1989 movement was not a counter-revolutionary riot in the future. Several non-permanent overseas judges have resigned from Hong Kong’s top court since the security law was enacted, raising concerns about judicial independence. Amidst this, the annual Tiananmen Square vigil in Hong Kong was banned in 2020, with pro-Beijing groups holding a carnival instead. Activists Chow, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho face subversion charges under the security law and remain in custody. In a separate ruling, jailed activist Tam Tak-chi’s bid to overturn his sedition convictions under a colonial-era law was dismissed. The colonial law was repealed last year, replaced with a new security law that critics fear will further limit freedoms.
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