Veteran members of a pro-democracy group that organizes Hong Kong’s Tiananmen Square annual vigils will not run in their upcoming committee elections to avoid risks of being arrested.

Eight long-serving members on the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China’s standing committee will step down after their term, chairperson Lee Cheuk-yan said.

The members include reverend Chu Yiu-ming, former lawmakers Cheung Man-kwong, Andrew Wan and Leung Yiu-chung, Tuen Mun district councilor Kenneth Cheung, former Wong Tai Sin district councilor Chui Pak-tai, one of the alliance’s founding members Yip Wai-keung and retired school principal Chan Kwok-kuen.

Fourteen members are in the running for 15 seats on the executive committee. The alliance earlier decided to reduce the number of members from 20 to 15. An insider said they expect Lee to continue as chairperson and Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung to remain as vice chairpersons.

Lee told Apple Daily he believed that the absence of veteran members would not have a big impact on their work and that the new arrangement of a smaller committee would help reduce the risk of getting arrested.

“I don’t want so many people to carry the burden of being exposed to such risk of [being arrested],” he said.

The decision comes after the police recently arrested two people for alleged fraud and money laundering over a church-led online crowdfunding drive to support social worker Lau Ka-tung, who was arrested for obstructing a police officer during an anti-extradition bill demonstration. Three bank accounts linked to the church were frozen, a move the church has claimed was “political revenge” in retaliation to its support for the protests.

Lee said the arrests were part of a government intimidation tactic intended to scare off members of the public from making donations to social movement organizations.

He hoped that people would show their support for the alliance by donating in cash and visiting their stall at the annual Lunar New Year fair, where they have sold items carrying political messages for decades.

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