Top Hong Kong court overturns convictions of three former organizers of Tiananmen vigils

Hong Kong top court overturns convictions of pro-democracy activists for refusing to provide information to police.

Hong Kong's top court on Thursday (March 6, 2025) overturned the convictions of three former organizers of an annual vigil in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown over their refusal to provide information to police, marking a rare victory for the city's pro-democracy activists.

Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong — core members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China — were convicted in 2023 during Beijing's crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement. They received a sentence of 4 1/2 months each and have already served their terms.

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The alliance was long known for organizing candlelight vigils in the city on the anniversary of the Chinese military’s crushing of pro-democracy protests in Beijing in 1989. But it voted to disband in 2021 under the shadow of a sweeping national security law imposed by China.

Critics said the shutdown and the case showed that the city's Western-style civil liberties were shrinking despite promises they would be kept intact when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Before the group dissolved, police had sought details about its operations and finances in connection with alleged links to pro-democracy groups overseas, accusing it of being a foreign agent. But the group refused to cooperate, insisting it was not.

On Thursday, judges at the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal unanimously ruled in the trio's favor. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung announced the decision in court.