Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong were core members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, before it disbanded under the shadow of the Beijing-imposed law in 2021.

They received a sentence of four and a half months last year — widely seen as part of a crackdown on dissidents following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The alliance was long known for organising candlelight vigils in the city on the anniversary of the Chinese military's crushing of the 1989 protests in Beijing.