Three members of the since-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance have been sentenced to four and a half months in prison for refusing to give the police sensitive data. The alliance was accused of violating the “National Security Law” that Beijing enforced in Hong Kong in 2020.
The Hong Kong Alliance was the organizer of the annual Tiananmen Square vigil. The organization was disbanded in September 2021, after senior members were arrested for “inciting subversion of state power” and being a “foreign agent.”
On March 4, Tang Ngok Kwan, Tsui Hon Kwong, and Chow Hang-Tung were convicted for refusing to comply with an order to hand over sensitive data to the national security police. The order required them to hand over information about the organization’s activities, funding, employees, executives, and board members.
The police demanded the data under Article 43 of the National Security Law because of the accusation that the organization was a “foreign agent.” But the authorities have yet to present evidence of the organization’s collusion with foreign entities.
Chow is facing extra charges of subversion, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Before it was disbanded, the Hong Kong Alliance was ordered to remove all of its content on online platforms, including its website and Facebook page.
