3 Tiananmen vigil organizers set to be sentenced in Hong Kong national security case

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court will sentence Friday three activists who have long organized vigils commemorating China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The trial is regarded as a key indicator of the city’s remaining freedoms as Beijing intensifies its crackdown on dissent.

Lee Cheuk‑yan, Chow Hang‑tung and Albert Ho could each face up to ten years in prison after being convicted of inciting subversion earlier this year under a Beijing‑imposed national security law.

Hong Kong once boasted a vibrant civil society, marked by mass protests and a free‑wheeling press. After the 2019 protest movement shook the city, authorities curbed electoral choices and prosecuted media leaders who reported critically on the government. Numerous activists have been imprisoned under the security law, and dozens of civil‑society groups, including the alliance, have dissolved.

Beijing maintains that the law is essential to preserve stability.

Friday’s sentencing will be the latest high‑profile penalty handed down under the security law. In February, former pro‑democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Chow, who defended herself, said the verdict implies that striving for democracy is treated as a crime and that she deserves not a single day behind bars.

China’s foreign ministry in Hong Kong countered that the city operates under the rule of law, and that no one should be permitted to exploit “freedom of speech and press” as a cover for unlawful activities, responding to foreign governments’ criticism of the Tiananmen vigil organizers’ verdict.

The three defendants were leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which for three decades organized the only large‑scale, public Tiananmen vigil in the country.

The 1989 Tiananmen crackdown saw hundreds, possibly thousands, of people killed as military tanks entered central Beijing and troops opened fire to quell the student‑led pro‑democracy protests.

For decades the annual vigil attracted tens of thousands to Hong Kong’s Victoria Park, symbolizing the civil liberties that distinguished the city from mainland China. Authorities banned the event in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Urania Chiu, a law lecturer at Oxford Brookes University in the U.K., said the convictions confirm that even peaceful advocacy for democratic reform in the Chinese regime is now criminalized in Hong Kong.

In August, three government‑appointed judges convicted the trio of inciting subversion, pointing to their organization’s call to “end one‑party dictatorship.” The judges ruled that this encouraged supporters to seek the removal of the ruling Chinese Communist Party through unlawful means, implying an intention to overthrow or undermine it.

Lee and Chow entered not‑guilty pleas, while Albert Ho pleaded guilty—a move that could lessen his penalty. All three were charged in September 2021 and have remained in custody since then.

During the trial, the defense argued that the defendants did not intend to end the Party’s leadership and that the alliance never urged people to adopt illegal tactics. Lee explained that their call to “end one‑party dictatorship” and move toward democracy simply meant allowing the people to choose their leaders.

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