Hong Kong Police charge June 4 vigil leaders with ‘inciting subversion’
Beijing, Sep 10 (EFE).- The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police have charged three leaders of the group behind the annual Tiananmen Massacre vigil with inciting subversion of state power.
Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKA) chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, vice presidents Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung, as well as the group itself were charged on Thursday, according to state news outlet RTHK.
The crime can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, according to Article 23 of the National Security Law that Beijing imposed in Hong Kong last year.
Chow and four HKA standing committee members – Leung Kam-wai, Chan To-wai, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong – who were arrested earlier in the week, were also charged with failing to provide information required by the police under Article 43 of the law.
At the hearing held Friday in West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court, Chow saw his bail denied, although there is a review hearing of this decision scheduled for Sep. 15.
In addition, the police announced it had frozen HK$2.2 million ($283,000) of the HKA’s assets.
On Thursday the police confiscated documents, computers and promotion materials from the now-closed June 4th Museum, run by the HKA and dedicated to the memory of the victims of the Tiananmen massacre. EFE
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