2 Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil activists say they were denied early release for being ‘unremorseful’
- Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong say Correctional Services Department decided to push back their release dates by 1½ months
The pair, who were standing committee members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were each sentenced to 4½ months imprisonment for refusing a police request for help to investigate the group – a breach of the implementation rules of the Beijing-decreed national security law.
They started serving their sentences after losing an appeal in the High Court on March 14. The sentences would have been completed on April 29, taking into account the time the pair were held in remand and a one-third reduction generally granted to prisoners for good behaviour.
But the two activists said they were notified shortly before their expected release date that their early discharge would be contrary to the nation’s interests. They eventually left prison on June 13.
The Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, mandated under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city’s mini-constitution, stipulates that a national security offender “must not be granted remission” unless the prison service is satisfied the move will not compromise national security.
