The Alliance announced that all its staff will be laid off within this month, and the number of Standing Committee members will be halved to only seven, resulting in a serious loss of human resources. However, the temporary spokesman of the Alliance said that the mourning of the June 4 incident and the vindication of the 1989 pro-democracy movement are the important work of the Alliance, still hoping to hold candlelight memorial rallies in the Victoria Park; at this stage, the platform will not be revised.
He said that he felt sadness and injustice for the fact that the chairman and vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China were in prison or on remand due to different circumstances. He will persist, but will take it step by step. He said that the Alliance is in the transition period, as for the June 4 memorial issue, is consulting lawyers, not finalized; at this stage will not modify the platform, but will continue to assess the situation.
Tuesday (13) will be the fourth anniversary of the death of the late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, the Alliance collected poems from the public online earlier to mourn Liu Xiaobo, and plans to release them online on the same day to allow the public to mourn together.
The Alliance has five major platforms, including “releasing pro-democracy activists, vindicating the 1989 pro-democracy movement, holding people accountable for the massacre, ending one-party dictatorship, and building a democratic China”.
Executive Council member and senior barrister Tang Jiahua said that the demand to “end one-party dictatorship” could be interpreted as an intention to subvert state power, but it must involve violence, or the threat of violence, or illegal means to constitute the crime of subversion of state power; using slogans as an organizational platform alone, but not involving violence or illegal acts, does not necessarily constitute the crime of subversion of state power. The slogan alone as an organizational platform, but does not involve the use of violence or illegal acts, does not necessarily interfere with the “Hong Kong State Security Law”.
He also said that whether “ending one-party dictatorship” has the meaning of subversion of state power has to be clarified by the court, reiterating that if no violence or illegal acts are involved, it is impossible to see why the past or future June Fourth vigils will be considered as rallies that violate the National Security Law.
But Hong Kong deputies to the National People’s Congress, the Federation of Trade Unions President Wu Qiubei believes that the position of the Alliance has always been directed against the Mainland and the Chinese Communist Party, even if the demobilization of staff, only to disassociate themselves from those who are hostile to the Mainland, that just want to divert attention, the Alliance has not changed its position, I believe it will violate the “National Security Law”.
Wu Qiubei said, if the organization is not legal, the State Security Office will certainly be thoroughly investigated and law enforcement, individuals involved in it, but also to escape legal responsibility, calling on the public to be careful of incitement, disruption and subversion of power, to be vigilant.
The Alliance announced on Saturday (10), Hong Kong’s political environment has taken a sharp turn for the worse, decided to reduce the number of members of the Standing Committee and will be laid off all staff.
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