Hong Kong court dismisses appeal by 3 core members of now-disbanded Tiananmen vigil alliance in police probe case

Trio from Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China were convicted last year for rejecting police request for information on group

Implementation rules of the Beijing-imposed national security law empower the police chief to request a range of information from suspected foreign agent

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Tsui Hon-kwong (left) and Tang Ngok-kwan had earlier been granted bail pending their appeal. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 12:59am, 15 Mar 2024

A Hong Kong court has dismissed an appeal by three core members of a now-disbanded alliance behind the city’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil over their conviction and sentence for failing to help a police investigation into the group’s suspected violation of the national security law.

The trio from the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China were convicted last year for rejecting a police request for details about group members, donors, financial reports and activities.

Former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung and ex-standing committee members Tsui Hon-kwong and Tang Ngok-kwan launched the first legal challenge over the implementation rules of the Beijing-imposed law.

Chow Hang-tung (second left) was vice-chairwoman of the now-disbanded alliance. Photo: Sam Tsang

The rules empower the police chief to request a range of information from a suspected foreign agent or one with links to Taiwan.

The trio argued that police and the prosecution needed to prove the alliance was a foreign agent “in fact” before authorities could issue a notice to request disclosure of information and demand their compliance.

But the Court of First Instance on Thursday ruled that law enforcement did not need to provide evidence to prove suspects were foreign agents because police had been given “wide power” to investigate offences endangering national security.

“Obviously, it is unreasonable to require [police] to be able to prove as a fact to the criminal standard that [a group] is a foreign or Taiwan political organisation before a notice can be served,” Madam Justice Anna Lai Yuen-kee said in a 30-page judgment.