Commemoration of Guilt: Hong Kong Branch Association's Three People's State Security Case Entered in Punishment Procedure

The High Court of Hong Kong recently issued a sentencing statement on the "incitement to subversion of the state regime" case of three former leaders of the Confederation.United States Agency reports.Li Jiang, Zhou Zhuang and Hu Jian Jin were included in the national security law prosecution framework for the long-term holding of six-and-four candlesticks commemoration activities, initiating democracy and "end the one-party dictatorship", and the three could face a maximum of ten years in prison.

This is a typical case of National Security Law procedure: the defendant is clear, the charges are clear, the conviction has been made, and the court is deciding on the sentence. Its political meaning is equally clear: Beijing’s governance system is pushing historical memory, peaceful association and democratic advocacy from the field of public expression to the field of criminal punishment.

*Condemnation hearing enters the final stage

According to the Associated Press, Li Jiang, Zhou Zhang and Ho Jin are former leaders of the dissolved "Hong Kong Citizens' Support for Patriotic Democracy Movement Federation".The organization has held candlesticks in Hong Kong for years to commemorate the events of 1989, and is a platform for organizing a long-term public commemoration of the Sixth of the Fourth of the Year for a few Chinese societies.

Li Jiang and Zhou Zhang had previously denied guilt and were convicted on August 21 of "inciting subversion of the state regime"; Hu Jintao had previously confessed guilt and could usually receive a lighter punishment when punished.

Under the National Security Act, "incitement to subversion" is not a common criminal offence. It will incorporate political criticism of the state regime, central power and the leadership of the Communist Party into the security criminal framework. For the accused, punishment not only determines personal freedom, but also determines whether the Hong Kong society can also publicly preserve the memory of the Sixteen.

* Three accused persons

Li Jiang is a senior Democrat, representative of Hong Kong's industry, a member of the Hong Kong Legislature, and has long participated in the Association and Memorial activities.He is representative in the Hong Kong Democratic Movement, Labour Movement and International Trade Union Network, and is therefore one of the democratic figures that focus on the liquidation of Beijing's Hong Kong system.

Zhou Yuan is a major lawyer and human rights defender, and has served as vice president of the branch association. She adhered to her self-defense and openly expressed her position in numerous national security and security-related cases, and became the few people who continue to challenge the logic of political conviction in the court after the implementation of the Hong Kong national security law.

He is a senior lawyer and former lawmaker in Hong Kong, has served as deputy chairman of the Confederation and has also been involved in democratic political and human rights legal affairs for a long time. He admitted his guilt earlier in the case, but the nature of the case has not changed: the prosecution of the Hong Kong system is still the political role of the Confederation for a long time to preserve the memory and initiative of democracy.

How the court interpreted the “end of one-party dictatorship”

The key to the conviction in the case is how the court understands the long-standing political slogans and organizational goals of the branches.previously by United States.The judge believes that the claim to end the one-party dictatorship points to ending the leadership position of the Communist Party of China and constitutes a violation of China's constitutional order and national security law.

The court also determined that the CPC continued to maintain its claim after the implementation of the National Security Law, which is equivalent to encouraging supporters to wait for a time to their goals by illegal means.In other words, in the context of Hong Kong National Security, the commemoration of the Fourth and the call for democracy are no longer just political expressions, but may be interpreted as a criminal threat to the legitimacy of the Chinese rule.

Zhou Yuan defended himself in court and argued that peace initiatives and democratic demands should not be criminalized.The Front Line DefendersShe has been detained since 2021 in the case of her participation as a human rights defender and lawyer in the Fourth World Memorial and related initiatives.

Six-Four Memories Retreat from Public Square to Court Volume

The Hong Kong Branch Association once represented one of Hong Kong's most important public freedoms: public memorial in the framework of China's sovereignty.

After Beijing enforced the Hong Kong National Security Act, the Confederation dissolved, the Westminster Party stopped, democratic organizations collapsed or were prosecuted, and media, trade unions, student organizations and civil society organizations were liquidated.

Changes in the National Security Law for Hong Kong are not only reflected in the number of individual cases, but also in the number of cases.Changes in legal logicAuthorities no longer need to prove that the accused has committed violence, nor need to prove that the real regime has been directly overthrown, as long as the political claims are interpreted as “shaken the leadership of the CCP”, criminal responsibility can be established.

“TheThe National PillarThe removal was a symbol of the same political cleansing clue. The Associated Press and several media have that the University of Hong Kong removed the statue commemorating the victims of the Six-Four in 2021.

The Demonstration Effect of Beijing’s Port Legal Machine

The case shows that the Hong Kong system has formed a new shell of the rule of law: it packages political repression with court verdicts, appointment of judges, state security crimes and penalty procedures, making repression look like normal justice, and giving political cleansing an institutionalized appearance.

For the regime of the Communist Party of China, the Six-Four is not a historical dispute, but a prohibited zone for the legitimacy of the rule. The memorial space that Hong Kong once retained is the most intolerable political exception in Beijing.

The case also gives a clear signal to overseas society: the National Security Law is not a neutral tool for safeguarding public security, but the core weapon of the Chinese Communist Party in Hong Kong to rebuild political loyalty, eliminate anti-memory, and punish peaceful expression.