Three former members of a Hong Kong group that organized annual vigils to mark China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, were yesterday found guilty of not complying with a national security police request for information.
Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤), 38, a prominent Hong Kong democracy advocate and former vice-chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China, was among those convicted by the magistrate court.
Two other former standing committee members of the alliance, Tang Ngok-kwan (鄧岳君) and Tsui Hon-kwong (徐漢光), were also found guilty.
Photo: Reuters
The now-disbanded alliance was the main organizer of Hong Kong’s June 4 candlelight vigil for people killed in the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Every year it drew tens of thousands of people.
Since Hong Kong’s massive pro-democracy protests in 2019, authorities have not allowed the vigil to take place on COVID-19-related grounds.
The alliance disbanded in September 2021 after authorities arrested several senior members of the group, including Chow.
The trial started late last year, more than a year after the defendants were arrested. The alliance was accused by prosecutor Ivan Cheung (張大有) of being a “foreign agent” for an unnamed group, after allegedly receiving HK$20,000 (US$2,548) from it.
Chow denied this in court, saying it was an independent civil society group run by Hong Kongers, and that the case amounted to “political persecution.”
“The existence of an independent organization like us that can check power is essential to the security of a nation, not a threat,” she told the court.
Magistrate Peter Law (羅德泉), who was hand-picked to hear national security cases by Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed leader, said in a written judgement that it was necessary for the police to “ascertain the background” of the group given its political activities and “nexus of interactions with local and non-local organizations and people.”
Sentencing is expected on Saturday with a maximum jail term of six months for this particular offense.
Chow has already served two prison terms for unlawful assembly linked to her involvement in organizing Tiananmen commemoration events, but still faces a separate, graver charge of subverting state power through the alliance.
Some key details of the case, including the overseas organizations and individuals alleged to have ties to the alliance, were kept confidential after the prosecutor applied for “Public Interest Immunity,” saying that the disclosures would the harm public interest.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was
RSS