Over 90 Organizations and Individuals Call for Immediate Release of Hong Kong Activists Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan
For thirty years, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (Hong Kong Alliance) organized the world’s largest annual commemoration of the military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests of 4 June 1989.
Chow Hang-tung, the former vice chairperson of the organization, is a distinguished barrister and an Amnesty International-recognized prisoner of conscience. Lee Cheuk-yan, the former chairperson, is a prominent labor leader and fellow pro-democracy activist. Both are now defending their charges under NSL, with incitement to subversion, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment.
Ahead of the start of Chow and Lee’s trial, which is now further delayed two more months, representatives from civil society organizations will hold a press conference in Toronto to release a joint letter co-signed by more than 45 organizations around the world. The letter calls on the G7 nations including Canada, and EU/EEA member states to exert diplomatic pressure on the Hong Kong government to release Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan immediately and unconditionally.
| Date/Time Toronto time | Tuesday October 28, 2025 12:00 to 13:00 Door opens at 11:45 WebEx opens at 11:55 |
| Location | Workers’ Action Centre Suite 206, 720 Spadina Avenue Toronto, Ontario |
| WebEx Meeting | https://signin.webex.com/join Meeting number: 28614568024 Password: joint-letter Or use this direct WebEx meeting link When signing in, please enter your company name then personal name in the Name field |
Present at the press conference are
- Dr. Fernando Cheung, spokesperson for Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas Section (AIHKO)
- Canada-Hong Kong Link (CHKL)
- Toronto Association for Democracy in China (TADC)
- Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement (VSSDM)
Joint Statement
Download final version after 2025-10-28 13:00 EDT (17:00 GMT)
Global Rally
Events listed below are for information only. Dates and times are local to the corresponding cities. Please refer to event posts for official and up-to-date details.
Toronto, Canada: Nathan Phillips Square, 2:00 pm Sunday November 2, 2025
https://www.TADC.ca/release-chow-and-lee/
Vancouver, Canada: Vancouver Chinese Consulate, 2:00 pm Sunday November 2, 2025
https://www.vssdm.org/post/rally-for-justice-and-freedom
London, England: Embassy of China, 2:00 pm Saturday November 8, 2025
https://x.com/hklabourrights/status/1981023512719397077
