HK Activists Convicted Over Tiananmen Vigil Campaign



A prison van arrives outside West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict
A prison van arrives outside West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts ahead of the verdict.


Lee Cheuk‑yan, 69, and Chow Hang‑tung, 41, leaders of the former Hong Kong Alliance, were found guilty of inciting subversion under Hong Kong’s national security law. They face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, with sentencing expected later in the year.


Both activists organised annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, a practice that was banned in 2020 under Covid‑19 restrictions and never resumed after the national security law came into force.


Prosecutors argued that the defendants "endangered national security in the name of human rights". Chow represented herself in court in May, claiming the law itself was on trial.


Human‑rights group Amnesty International has warned that the case relies on vague, overly broad and arbitrary definitions of "subversion".


The prosecution of the Hong Kong Alliance leaders, charged in 2021, has raised concerns about freedom of assembly and expression in the city.