Lee and Chow also served as leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance (HKA).
Founded in May 1989, the HKA voiced support for students engaged in pro-democracy demonstrations. Shortly thereafter, the Chinese authorities suppressed the Beijing Tiananmen Square protests using military force, resulting in a death toll that estimates vary between a few hundred and several thousand.
For three decades, the Alliance urged the authorities to acknowledge the crackdown, release political prisoners, and implement democratic reforms.
The organization’s leaders were prosecuted in 2021 and have remained incarcerated ever since.
Amnesty International has characterized the case as relying on vague, overly broad, and arbitrary interpretations of “subversion.”
Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director, asserted that Chow and Lee had committed no recognizable offense.
Brooks added that “Chow Hang‑tung and Lee Cheuk‑yan are prisoners of conscience who should never have been prosecuted; they must be released immediately and unconditionally.”
In a related case, Chow was arrested in June 2021 for allegedly inciting participation in that year’s vigil and subsequently convicted.
However, Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal overturned the conviction in 2022, determining that the police had failed to adequately justify the ban on the vigil.
In 2021, Chow spoke with the BBC shortly before her arrest on 4 June 2022.
She stated, “I am prepared to be arrested; this is the reality of Hong Kong today,” and added, “I am willing to pay the price for fighting for democracy.”
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