Bio:

Lee Cheuk-yan is the former general secretary of the HKCTU and former chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance. He is a vocal critic of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments for their infringement of people’s political, civil, economic, social, and cultural rights. He served as a member of the colonial legislature from 1995 to 1997 and the HKSAR Legislative Council (LegCo) from 1998 to 2016.

Lee was first arrested and charged on 28 February 2020 for organising an unauthorised rally on 31 August 2019. He was later charged with organising unauthorised assembly in another three incidents: the rallies on 18 August and 1 October and the June 4th Candlelight Vigil on 4 June 2020. He was convicted of all the charges in three separate District Court trials in 2021 and was sentenced to a total of 20 months in jail.[1] He has received two more weeks behind bars for obstructing a police officer during a peaceful protest calling for the release of political prisoners outside the LegCo Building on New Year’s Day in 2021. [2]

Lee was also charged with inciting subversion of state power under the NSL on 9 September 2021 for his role in the Hong Kong Alliance. The charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment. The subversion case has been repeatedly postponed and is now scheduled to begin in November 2025. He has been held on remand awaiting trial since completing his previous sentence in early October 2022.

[1]                https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/184432/Eight-Hong-Kong-activists-jailed-for-up-to-a-year-and-two-months-over-June-4-vigil 

[2]                https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3175861/jailed-former-hong-kong-lawmaker-gets-2-more-weeks