Hong Kong court convicts activists behind Tiananmen vigil

Three Hong Kong activists from a now-defunct group that organized annual vigils commemorating China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests were convicted on Saturday for failing to provide authorities with information on the group in accordance with a national security law.

Leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong were arrested in 2021.

The alliance was best known for organizing candlelight vigils in Hong Kong every June 4.

Before the group voted to disband, police had sought details about its operations and finances in connection with alleged links to democracy groups overseas in August 2021, accusing it of being a foreign agent.

But the group refused to cooperate, arguing police were arbitrarily labeling pro-democracy organizations as foreign agents. It added the police did not have a right to ask for its information because it was not a foreign agent and the authorities did not provide sufficient justification.

Under the security law’s implementation rules, the police chief can request a range of information from a foreign agent. Failure to comply with the request could result in six months in jail and a fine of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars if convicted.