cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/54103224
Closing arguments have been heard in the trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists who organised a vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.
Advocates say the trial is part of a crackdown by Beijing on long-enjoyed freedoms in Hong Kong. What's next?
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung face up to 10 years in jail if convicted of "incitement to subversion".
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A lone man faces down a line of tanks: known only as 'Tank Man', his bravery during the Tiananmen Square massacre has been remembered at vigils in Hong Kong for decades.
That is until Beijing cracked down on events held on June 4, the anniversary of the massacre.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong's High Court began hearing closing arguments in the case of two democracy activists, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, charged with inciting subversion for organising a candlelight vigil to remember Tiananmen Square.
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Experts warn it's a sign of China's increasingly hardline stance and are concerned that the world is forgetting about human rights in Hong Kong.
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No-one knows what happened to 'Tank Man' or his name.
On June 4, 1989, months of pro-democracy and freedom protests came to a head in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
Under leader Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ordered an estimated 180,000 troops and police to enter with tanks and armoured vehicles.
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Nearly 40 years later, the reverberations from that event are still being felt, as the Chinese government continues to stifle mention of the massacre and has cracked down on people in Hong Kong who attended events to remember it.
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Lee and Chow, two former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, have pleaded not guilty to "incitement to subversion" after organising vigils on the massacre anniversary.
If convicted, they face up to 10 years in jail.
A third defendant, 74-year-old Albert Ho, a former lawyer, pleaded guilty in January.
When the British handed back Hong Kong to China in 1997, Beijing promised that the "capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years", under what's called the Basic Law, the document that forms the basis of Hong Kong's constitution.
But, less than 30 years in, human rights and legal advocates have become increasingly concerned about Beijing's crackdown on freedom of expression and approach to human rights in Hong Kong.
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Andrew Witheford, from Amnesty International Australia, told the ABC that a national security law brought in in 2020 has been a key instrument for China to essentially undermine the safeguards and undertakings that were given in the Hong Kong Basic Law.
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While mainland China quickly quashed any mention of the Tiananmen Square massacre, vigils have been held in Hong Kong on June 4 since 1990, with hundreds of thousands of people participating.
"In 2020, on the pretext of COVID, the vigils were banned by the government and, since then, anyone turning up on June 4 has been arrested and subject to charges under the national security law," Mr Witheford said.
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"The Chinese government has not only refused to reckon with past wrongs โ it is trying to erase them," [Human Rights Watch Asia director Elaine Pearson ] said.
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In her closing submission to the High Court, Chow, a barrister who represented herself, argued that the "real core issue is whether the law truly forbids us from pursuing a democratic transition and defends the Communist Party's perpetual rule".
"In the face of the government's abuse of power and arbitrary killings, does the law only allow us to swallow and wallow in our discontent but not to demand an end to such a tyranny?" she said.
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[Edit: Added 'China' to the title for clarity.]