Currently serving a jail sentence in Hong Kong, Chow Hang-tung, a human rights lawyer and former vice chairman of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance), has recently been honored with the 2023 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation (the Foundation), a human rights organization that recognizes individuals’ and groups’ contribution in advancing human rights. Beijing’s CCP regime pressured the Foundation to “reconsider” the decision. The organizers had rejected the request, according to South Korean media.
The Korean Times, an English-language South Korean media outlet, reported that three officials from the PRC’s Consulate General in Gwangju, including Consul General Zhang Chenggang, visited the office of the May 18 Memorial Foundation on May 8 for a meeting with the president. The CCP officials accused Chow of being “a criminal” in a “violent protest that damaged China” and asked the Foundation to “reconsider its decision” on the award.
The Foundation refused. The report quoted the Foundation’s president saying that a country should respect the private sector’s assessment of human rights and the decision to award prizes. The report also mentioned the ceremony to be held next Thursday (May 18), which Chow’s representative is expected to attend to receive the award on her behalf.
May 18 Memorial Foundation started the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights in 2000. The Foundation was established in 1994 to commemorate Gwangju’s incident of May 18, 1980, and is currently the largest human rights organization in South Korea.
On May 3, when the head of the adjudicating panel Moon Hee-sang announced Chow’s nomination, he called on the global community to stand in solidarity with Hong Kong’s democracy, uphold human rights, and demonstrate their support for Hong Kong people’s struggle for freedom and democracy.
“Chow Hang-tung’s struggle against the Hong Kong authority’s undemocratic, inhumane treatment has become the source of courage and hope for human rights advocates and those longing for democracy worldwide, even when she is in custody,” said Moon Hee-sang.
Chow Hang-tung, 38, used to be a distinguished student pursuing natural sciences at the University of Cambridge. When prohibited by the CCP from entering China to do field research as a Ph.D. candidate, she decided to relinquish her doctoral studies and returned to Hong Kong to pursue law. She was admitted to the bar in 2016.
Chow is presently incarcerated for “inciting and organizing illegal gathering” to commemorate the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square massacre during the pandemic. The Alliance Chow was vice chair for, jointly formed by more than 200 pro-democracy civil groups, had been the organizer for the city’s largest annual candlelight vigil for over 30 years.
Chow is sentenced to another 4.5 months for refusing to surrender the Alliance’s data to the national security police, a demand made by the latter based on a “foreign agent” accusation of the organization, which Chow and others denied.
Chow was granted bail awaiting appeal, but she declined to accept the bail conditions that would limit her freedom of speech. Additionally, she faced charges of “inciting subversion of state power,” which would necessitate detention.
On Feb. 2, the world was moved by the nomination of six Hong Kong activists for the Nobel Peace Prize. Among them were Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and the founder of the Apple Daily newspaper Jimmy Lai. These Hongkongers’ unwavering commitment to the cause of freedom had earned them due recognition.
Chow once wrote, “What I said before everything took place shall remain the same in my submission to the court. It shall not alter due to threats of penalty. You can force me on bitter manual tasks—like washing the toilet—and smelly porridge but you can’t force me to speak contrary to my mind. You can even force me to shut up but you can’t force me to utter what I do not believe.”
In her statement in court, Chow said, “After all, dictatorship relies on the people it governs, using tools of totalitarian manipulation such as humiliation and fear to turn individuals into their jailers. This creates a world of falsehood and restriction, devoid of facts, options, and independent thought. The language is restricted, and values are hollowed out, making it impossible for people to exercise autonomous choice.
The key to ending dictatorship is to break free from this prison of thought by protecting the truth, providing options, speaking freely, and defending important values and principles. The Alliance has been actively pursuing these goals, and I am dedicated to doing the same in this court.”
Chow’s “crime” was nothing more than informing others how to participate in the Victoria Park June 4 vigil in 2020 and 2021, an annual event held in Hong Kong since 1989 for over 30 years but made illegal in the name of covid-19 prevention measures. She was sentenced to prison for one year and ten months for this “crime.”
