Chow Hang-tung
Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤) is a barrister and woman human rights defender in Hong Kong. She has advocated for the protection and promotion of labour rights, as well as for the rights of persecuted human rights defenders in mainland China. She is one of the current vice-chairs of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Hong Kong Alliance), a grassroots advocacy group established in 1989 in Hong Kong to campaign for the release of Chinese political prisoners, democratic reforms in China, and accountability for the extrajudicial killings and other violations by the Chinese authorities during the lethal crackdown on pro-democracy protests in June 1989. As a barrister in Hong Kong, she has also provided legal assistance to activists and protesters targeted by police and judicial actions for their involvement in pro-democracy activities.
HRDs in Hong Kong working on democratisation and freedom of expression and association are viewed as threats to China’s control over the territory and are especially at risk of judicial harassment. The 2014 Umbrella Movement, which called for true universal suffrage in Hong Kong, saw hundreds of peaceful protestors arrested by the police, including dozens of HRDs. HRDs involved in the pro-democracy movement continue to face judicial harassment several years after the conclusion of the protests. Pro-Beijing media have portrayed these HRDs as criminals and separatists, while the Beijing administration has called for them to be punished more harshly.
