ITUC-Asia Pacific strongly condemns the High Court’s conviction of veteran trade union leader Lee Cheuk-yan, alongside pro-democracy activist, Chow Hang-tung, on charges of “inciting subversion” under Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL). Their co-defendant Albert Ho had earlier pleaded guilty and was also convicted.
On 21 August, Hong Kong’s High Court found the three leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China guilty Articles 22 and 23 of the NSL.
At the trial, the prosecution argued that the stated objective of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HK Alliance) of “ending one-party dictatorship” amounted to inciting the “subversion” of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule, and the court concluded that the Alliance’s objective of “ending one-party dictatorship”, together with the defendants’ continued advocacy of that objective, amounted to incitement to subversion under the NSL.
The HK Alliance was widely known for organising annual candlelight vigils on 4 June to remember and mourn the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The prosecution relied more broadly on the Alliance’s stated objectives, publications, public statements and activities.
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung pleaded “not guilty” of these charges.
“The judgment itself acknowledged that the Alliance had never used or advocated violence or the threat of violence. It is deeply troubling that merely expressing such a political position can itself constitute a criminal offence,” Shoya Yoshida, ITUC-Asia Pacific General Secretary said.
Reiterating the core principles of democracy and rights, he added:
“It is sometimes argued that restricting the rights of a limited number of dissenting voices in the interests of national stability is compatible with democracy. But there can be no meaningful democracy where freedom of expression and freedom of association are denied. These freedoms are not obstacles to a stable society; they are among its foundations.”
For the trade union movement, Lee’s case carries significance far beyond one individual or Hong Kong. ITUC-Asia Pacific asserts that freedom of association cannot be fully exercised where workers and trade unionists fear prosecution for speaking out on matters affecting their society. Trade union rights depend upon the wider civil liberties that allow workers to organise, assemble, express their views, and participate freely in public life.
In this regard, Shoya Yoshida said:
“Lee Cheuk-yan’s life work has been dedicated to uplifting workers and holding power to account through peaceful, lawful means. Criminalising the peaceful defence of democratic rights through an overly broad application of national security legislation sets a dangerous precedent for working people across Asia and the Pacific.”
Lee Cheuk-yan has been in prison since April 2021.
The Human Rights Council and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have previously urged the China and Hong Kong governments to release trade unionists and human rights defenders imprisoned for exercising internationally protected rights and to repeal the NSL so that it does not arbitrarily impinge on human and trade union rights.
Ahead of the upcoming mitigation on 28 August and the sentencing on a later date, ITUC-Asia Pacific calls for the convictions of Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tun,g and Albert Ho to be quashed and for their immediate and unconditional release. It further calls for the release of all trade unionists and human rights defenders detained solely for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights, and urges the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to bring national security legislation and its application into full conformity with applicable ILO standards and international human rights law.
ITUC-Asia Pacific also reiterates its call for the repeal of the NSL.
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