A Hong Kong remember the facts of Tiananmen Square it’s illegal. It was decided by a sentence of the judge Amanda Woodcock against three pro-democracy activists who took part in the ‘illegal’ vigil in memory of the bloody repression of 1989 a Beijing. Among them is also the media tycoon Jimmy Lai, found guilty of participating and inciting to join the event in 2020 in Port perfumed. In addition to Lai, the 74-year-old founder of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, the former journalist is also involved Gwyneth Ho and the well-known rights attorney Chow Hang-tung. Lai’s presence at the press conference to present the event “was a deliberate act to gather support and publicize the unauthorized assembly that followed”, reads the reasons for the sentence.
Last year the authorities of Hong Kong had accused about thirty people, including politicians and pro-democracy activists, of having participated in the unauthorized vigil to commemorate the victims of the June 4 repression, despite the police ban. The three convicted by the District Court, pending the sentence that will be defined later, were the only ones to challenge the charges in court, becoming the last to receive the verdict. In general, the three said they went to light candles in a personal capacity and of not having “incited” others to participate in the vigil in Victoria Park. Chow, a long-time attorney, has represented himself in court, comparing his actions to “tank man”, the person who challenged the Chinese tank column during the Tiananmen crackdown to become an icon of the protest. Judge Woodcock dismissed his arguments as “nonsense. The reality – he said according to local media reports – was that any intention to come out and attend the candlelight vigil in Victoria Park that night was a act of defiance and protest against the police“.
Amnesty International described the verdicts as the latest “attack on rights, freedom of expression and assembly” in Hong Kong, saying the authorities have criminalized a manifestation peaceful and socially distanced“. Held continuously for thirty years, vigils were banned in 2020 and 2021 on the grounds of anti-pandemic restrictions to combat the Covid-19 and security after pro-democracy protests of 2019. Previously, 16 politicians and activists, including Joshua Wong, were sentenced from 6 to 10 months in prison for their role in the vigil, with some suspended sentences. Beijinginstead, he made it clear this year that he would no longer tolerate any Tiananmen commemoration in Hong Kong’s two special administrative regions and Macao, the only two places in China where it was possible to do this.
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