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Vivian Au

Hong Kong authorities will review how the national security law is enforced after the city’s top court overturned the convictions of three core members of a now-disbanded alliance behind an annual Tiananmen Square vigil.
Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan weighed in on Saturday after the apex court quashed the convictions earlier in the week, marking the first successful legal challenge over the implementation rules of the Beijing-imposed national security law.
“The legislation regarding national security is not in a completed form, but in a continuous form,” Cheung said after appearing on a radio show.
He added that activities endangering the country changed constantly.
Sun Qingye, deputy director of Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, also said on Friday that the implementation of the law should continue to be improved.
He noted any decisions on whether to amend the law would rest with the country’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress.
The Court of Final Appeal on Thursday overturned the lower courts’ decisions by ruling that the trio from the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China were deprived of a fair trial.
The government said in response that it would study the judgment and the relevant legal principles, while also reviewing its experience in taking law enforcement action to safeguard national security.
Former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung and ex-standing committee members Tsui Hon-kwong and Tang Ngok-kwan from the now-dissolved group were convicted by a lower court for refusing to provide police with details about the alliance’s members, donors, financial reports and activities in September 2021.
The trio, who had been sentenced to 4½ months’ jail in 2023, launched the first legal challenge over the implementation rules of the Beijing-imposed national security law.
The rules empower the police chief to request a range of information from a suspected foreign agent or one with links to Taiwan.
Chow, a barrister by profession, represented herself in the proceedings and argued they were not given a fair trial to defend themselves as the prosecution had redacted key evidence that alleged the alliance was a foreign agent. The top court sided with the appellants.


Cheung said on Saturday that authorities were examining the case and would review the execution mechanisms according to the judgment.
He explained that the national security law, entering its fifth year of operation, was still relatively new.
He said authorities carried out enforcement with integrity and based on evidence, while the government would respect the court’s views and see how it could do better.
Cheung added he could not specify what would be the government’s next steps as it was still studying the judgment.
He also brushed aside concerns over whether the government would refuse to accept the outcome of the case.
The senior legal official said it was natural for the government to study the need to improve or amend legislation, which was part of common law practice, adding that any changes must go through the country’s top legislature. But anything related to enforcement procedures could be handled by local authorities.
The law was imposed by Beijing in 2020 to target acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces following months of anti-government protests.


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Chow Hang-tung was the vice-chairwoman of the now-disbanded group behind the city’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil. She and two other former members successfully challenged the national security law’s implementation rules. Photo: Getty Images

Hong Kong’s top court overturns convictions of Tiananmen vigil activists

Chow Hang-tung was the vice-chairwoman of the now-disbanded alliance behind the city’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil. Photo: AFP

Leaders of now-dissolved alliance behind the city’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil were sentenced to jail in 2023 for rejecting a police request. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong urged to focus on development while safeguarding national security

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang met Hong Kong’s NPC deputies on Friday in Beijng. Photo: Xinhua

(From left) Hong Kong NPC deputies Nicholas Chan Hiu-fung, Ronick Chan, Starry Lee, Chan Yung, Ma Fung-kwok, Stanley Ng Chau-pei, Gordon Lam Chi-wing and Allen Yeung Tak-bun brief the media after meeting Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang. Photo: Handout

Ding Xuexiang met the deputies on Friday morning. Photo: Xinhua

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Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung says government studying court case to understand how law can be better applied


Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung says government studying court case to understand how law can be better applied.
