Hong Kong national security law: 2 jailed leaders of Tiananmen vigil organiser urge members to vote to disband amid ongoing probe
- Current chairman Lee Cheuk-yan and former vice-chairman Albert Ho argue ‘that the best solution for the alliance is to voluntarily dissolve’
- Lee and Ho were both recently charged with subversion under the national security law, and Ho is also serving a jail term for his role in last year’s banned vigil
Writing from behind bars, chairman Lee Cheuk-yan and former vice-chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan on Monday called on members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China to back the dissolution at an emergency general meeting to be held on September 25.
“In regards to the current social environment, we believe that the best solution for the alliance is to voluntarily dissolve,” they wrote. “We publicly appeal to representatives of all member groups to support the dissolution of the alliance.”
Hong Kong court jails 9 activists, ex-lawmakers for roles in banned Tiananmen vigil
The motion to disband will require the approval of three-quarters of the voters present, the alliance’s standing committee noted in a press release, which also pointed to the challenges faced by the group in an “increasingly tense” political climate.
The city’s Security Bureau has started the process of revoking the alliance’s company registration, citing alleged violations of the Beijing-imposed legislation.
01:44
Hong Kong police raid opposition group’s museum collecting evidence for national security law case
Ho, who was also once the head of the alliance, recently stepped down from his role there and at two other prominent political groups – the New School for Democracy and the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group, which he co-founded.
Ho was also one of nine activists and former lawmakers to be jailed last Wednesday over their roles in the June 4 vigil in 2020, which police had banned on public health grounds. Three others were given suspended sentences, and eight defendants who pleaded not guilty in the case will stand trial in November.
Those who pleaded guilty last week included six leaders of the alliance – Ho, 69, and standing committee members Andrew Wan Siu-kin, 52, Cheung Man-kwong, 66, Mak Hoi-wah, 70, Leung Kwok-wah, 62, and Chiu Yan-loy, 36.
Tiananmen vigil organiser in Hong Kong closes website, social media accounts
Former lawmakers “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, 65, Cyd Ho Sau-lan, 67, Eddie Chu Hoi-dick, 43, and Yeung Sum, 73, along with former convenor of the now-disbanded Civil Human Rights Front Figo Chan Ho-wun, 25, and Labour Party chairman Steven Kwok Wing-kin, 34, also admitted their respective charges.
Albert Ho, Chan and Wan were each sentenced to 10 months in jail, while Kwok and Chiu were jailed for eight months. Cyd Ho, Leung Kwok-hung, Chu and Yeung were each sentenced to six months behind bars.
A day later, the alliance closed its social media accounts following an order from national security police amid the ongoing investigation into its activities. Earlier that day, however, the alliance opened a new Facebook page to disseminate news.
The national security law, imposed in June last year, targets acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, and carries a maximum punishment of life in prison.
