Currently serving a jail sentence in Hong Kong, Chow Hang-tung, a human rights lawyer and former vice chairman of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the Alliance), has recently been honored with the 2023 Gwangju Prize for Human Rights by the South Korean May 18 Memorial Foundation (the Foundation), a human rights organization that recognizes individuals’ and groups’ contribution in advancing human rights. Beijing’s CCP regime pressured the Foundation to “reconsider” the decision. The organizers had rejected the request, according to South Korean media.
The Korean Times, an English-language South Korean media outlet, reported that three officials from the PRC’s Consulate General in Gwangju, including Consul General Zhang Chenggang, visited the office of the May 18 Memorial Foundation on May 8 for a meeting with the president. The CCP officials accused Chow of being “a criminal” in a “violent protest that damaged China” and asked the Foundation to “reconsider its decision” on the award.
