Hong Kong courts sentence three Tiananmen vigil organisers to up to seven years in prison

Sentences delivered for alliance leaders

A Hong Kong court sentenced three pro-democracy figures to prison terms between five and seven years on Friday following their conviction for incitement to subversion. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, received a prison sentence of seven years, while Chow Hang-tung, 41, was sentenced to seven years and three months. Albert Ho, a 74-year-old former lawmaker who entered a guilty plea in January 2026, received a term of five years and two months. All three individuals had served as core leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, the civic organisation that arranged the annual candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 crackdown in Beijing. The sentencing concludes one of the last high-profile national security prosecutions to be heard in Hong Kong under the security legislation enacted by Beijing in 2020.

The ruling on political slogans

The criminal prosecution centred on a political slogan used by the Hong Kong Alliance for more than three decades: "end one-party dictatorship". On 21 August 2026, a panel of three judges delivered a guilty verdict against Chow and Lee, ruling that the slogan effectively called for the overthrow of the Chinese Communist Party leadership. The court found that the defendants intended to cause the public to lose confidence in the party by stirring up hostility and causing division across society. Judges ruled that the activists had incited other persons to organise, plan, commit, or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting state power, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of ten years. The legal defence maintained throughout the trial that the Alliance was solely exercising protected rights to freedom of speech. Chow, a barrister educated in the United Kingdom, represented herself in court rather than retaining legal counsel.

Dissolution of the Hong Kong Alliance

The Hong Kong Alliance disbanded in 2021 after facing growing legal pressure and police investigations following the introduction of the national security law. For more than thirty years, the organisation arranged the annual June 4 candlelight vigils at Victoria Park, where crowds filled six soccer fields to remember the victims of the 1989 crackdown. In spring 1989, nationwide demonstrations across mainland China culminated in student hunger strikes in Tiananmen Square before the People's Liberation Army moved against unarmed civilians. Hong Kong and Macau were historically the only places on Chinese soil where public commemorations of the Tiananmen crackdown could be held openly. The annual gatherings ceased after authorities prohibited the events, and the three Alliance leaders have remained in detention since their initial arrests in 2021.

Public response and international reaction

Public attendance at the courthouse drew residents who queued for several days to secure access to the public gallery, with some bringing food, supplies, and umbrellas to stay overnight outside the building. During her multi-year detention, Chow frequently wrote letters that were subsequently published on her social media channels. In August 2026, Chow addressed a note to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, calling on the British government to take a firmer stance against Beijing. The Foreign Office of the United Kingdom issued a statement condemning the application of the national security law to convict and sentence the activists.