The highest court of Hong Kong made an unusual move to support democracy when it reversed the prison sentences against three vigil event organizers. On Thursday a Court of Final Appeal decision ended the convictions of Chow Hang-tung and her two colleagues Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong who received sentence in 2023 for declining to supply operational information about their disbanded organization to police.
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China included these three people who led the vigil events to honor the 1989 Tiananmen Square event. Sat the Supreme Court dismissed claims of foreign agency against the alliance because prosecution did not provide enough supporting evidence. The Supreme Court determined that the lower courts developed their conclusion through unverified police testimony.
Tang declared he saw hope for justice to rehabilitate their organization in public perception and noted that “justice exists within humanity’s hearts.” The Hong Kong national security law along with Hong Kong authorities continues to enforce tight regulations over public remembrances while several alliance leaders stay in detention for subversion offenses. 
The judgment gives pro-democracy advocates mild hope because it marks Beijing’s decline in controlling civil liberties across Hong Kong despite remaining an individual protest against Beijing’s tightening rule.
