Former Hong Kong lawmaker denies abetting criminal activity in mainland China

2026.03.18 12:20 Lee Cheuk-yan poses for a photograph at the Legislative Council Complex in 2016. Photo: Felix Wong A former Hong Kong lawmaker on trial for allegedly inciting subversion has denied abetting criminal activity by supporting mainland Chinese dissidents, accusing Beijing of levelling false charges against them. Prosecutors on Wednesday challenged Lee Cheuk-yan’s claim that he had no intention to incite others to overthrow the mainland’s communist rule when he called for an end to “one-party dictatorship” as former chairman of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. Lee, 69, and former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung, 41, are contesting the charge under the Beijing-imposed national security law for allegedly inciting others to topple the mainland’s fundamental system by advocating the abolition of one-party rule, one of the alliance’s five operational objectives. They face up to 10 years in jail if convicted. The alliance was known for holding annual candlelight vigils to mark Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters on June 4, 1989. The last vigil was held in 2019. Police banned the event on public health grounds in the next two years, before the alliance disbanded in September 2021. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Ned Lai Ka-yee, conducting the cross-examination at West Kowloon Court, sought to portray Lee as someone who had knowingly supported criminal activity on the mainland throughout his years of activism. Citing a controversial editorial of the state-run People’s Daily on April 26, 1989, which branded that year’s pro-democracy movement an upheaval, Lai said Lee risked violating mainland law by attempting to deliver 1 million yuan (US$144,704) in donations to the “reactionaries” in Beijing. Lee rejected the official narrative of the movement, but said he was unaware at the time if he had breached any mainland law. The prosecutor said the former lawmaker had, on multiple occasions, dr

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