Hong Kong court rejects Tiananmen vigil organizer's bid to quash indictment

HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong court on Monday rejected a former Tiananmen vigil organizer's attempt to quash her indictment, pressing ahead with a landmark case widely seen as part of a yearslong crackdown on the city's pro-democracy movement.

Chow Hang-tung, a former leader of the group that organized a decades-old vigil to remember China's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, was charged in 2021 with inciting subversion, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years. She was charged together with two of the group's other former leaders, Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan.

Their case was brought under a national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 to quell massive anti-government protests in 2019. The trio were accused of inciting others to challenge the leadership of the Communist Party by unlawful means.

Chow, who is a barrister and is defending herself, argued that the indictment was unacceptably broad and vague because authorities did not specify an unlawful means. She said it could amount to a “catch-all charge.”

Judge Alex Lee remarked during the hearing that the charge was broad, but not vague.

Prosecutor Ned Lai argued that unlawful means meant those against the Chinese constitution, which stipulates that the party's leadership is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and that damaging the socialist system is prohibited.

The three-judge panel, approved by the government to oversee the case, ruled against Chow. Lee said the panel would issue an opinion in January.

Chow appeared calm when she learned about the decision and smiled to the public gallery before leaving the courtroom.

The Tiananmen vigil, organized by the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, was the only large-scale public commemoration of the 1989 crackdown in China for decades until authorities banned it in 2020, citing anti-pandemic measures.

The group came under increasing pressure as police opened an investigation, accusing it of being a foreign agent. The group rejected the allegations and refused to cooperate. Chow, Ho and Lee were later charged for violations of the National Security Law.

In 2021, the alliance's members voted to disband.

Chow and two other core members of the group were convicted in 2023 for failing to provide authorities with information and received a sentence of 4 1/2 months each. But in March, the trio overturned their convictions at the city’s top court, marking a rare court victory for the city’s pro-democracy activists.

A trial in the national security case is set for Jan. 22.

Since pandemic-era gathering restrictions were lifted, the park where the vigil was previously held has been occupied on the Tiananmen anniversary by a carnival showcasing Chinese food and products.

Fernando Cheung, spokesperson for Amnesty International Hong Kong Overseas, said the court's decision on Monday showed that the authorities were “weaponizing the overly broad concept of ‘national security’ to suppress freedom of expression with impunity.”

“Commemorating the Tiananmen crackdown should never have been prosecuted," he said, calling for the release of those detained for what he called peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression.

The Hong Kong government insists that the city's security law restored the city's stability after the 2019 protests.

This version has been updated to correct the maximum penalty to 10 years, instead of life imprisonment.

FILE - Chow Hang-tung, vice chairperson of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Democratic Patriotic Movements of China, poses after an interview in Hong Kong on May 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)