Chow Hang-tung is a barrister and an activist in Hong Kong. Since she qualified as a barrister in 2016, she focused on human rights cases and represented a number of human rights defenders. She also actively participated in the human rights movements in both China and Hong Kong, serving as the vice-chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (“the HKA”), the organiser of the annual candlelight vigil for Tiananmen Massacre, until its disbandment in 2021. Also, she has long been concerned about human rights lawyers and activists in China, calling for public attention to the “709 crackdown” of Chinese human rights lawyers in 2015 and consistently showing solidarity with them for years.

Chow has been under detention since 8 September 2021 and facing four charges, one of which is “inciting subversion of state power”, a national security charge that could bring her to be jailed for 10 years maximum. Meanwhile, she, together with the other two standing committee members of the HKA, was also charged with refusing to comply with a national security notice. On the morning the police arrested Chow, she was preparing for the bail application hearing of national security defendant Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam in her chamber. However, Chow was arrested 5 hours before the bail application hearing took place.

She has already been convicted of two charges. On 13 December 2021, she was sentenced to 12 months in prison for “knowingly participating in an unauthorized assembly” for lighting candles with other members of the HKA and pro-democracy politicians to commemorate the victims of the Tiananmen massacre on 4 June 2020.

On 4 January 2022, her sentence was increased to 22 months as she was convicted of “inciting an unauthorized assembly” for posting an article to social media, encouraging Hong Kongers to commemorate the Tiananmen Massacre on 4 June 2021. She has lodged an appeal, which will be heard on the morning of 11 October 2022 at the High Court.

Chow is a staunch human rights lawyer and remains steadfast in safeguarding human rights and resisting the injustice of national security trials even being detained. She pleaded not guilty to all charges and kept applying for bail. Likewise, she chose to represent herself in most of her cases although facing grave difficulties with limited access to reference books, no access to the internet and a shortage of stationery while preparing for her case in prison. Her dedication to safeguarding human rights has been widely recognised. Along with four imprisoned activists Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, Lee Cheuk-yan and Joshua Wong, Chow was nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize by 15 academics from 10 countries.

She never shies away from challenging the court’s decisions when they are controversial. In her subversion case, after her application for lifting reporting restrictions for committal proceedings was rejected by the national security judge Peter Law, she applied for a judicial review challenging his decision on the ground that, according to the s87A(2) of the Magistrates Ordinance, a magistrate “shall” lift reporting restrictions when an application has been made by the accused or one of the accused.

On 2 Aug 2022, Chow won the judicial review as the High Court ruled that the judge’s decision is ultra vires and granted an order to quash it. Thus, the judge had to lift the reporting ban and the public finally can learn about what has happened and been discussed during the committal proceedings. It also benefits the defendants of the 47 democracy activists case as some of them also applied for lifting the reporting ban for committal proceedings in their case.

Further information:

Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its ninety-sixth session, 27 March–5 April 2023 (Opinion No. 30/2023 concerning Ms. Hang Tung Chow)