Hong Kong court convicts Tiananmen vigil leaders Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung of inciting subversion
Two former leaders of the disbanded Hong Kong Alliance face up to 10 years in prison under the National Security Law for organizing annual June 4 commemorations and calling to end one-party rule.
Verdict in High Court
On Friday, Hong Kong's High Court convicted two former leaders of the disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China for inciting subversion of state power. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, face up to 10 years in prison under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing in 2020. A third defendant, 74-year-old former lawmaker and former Alliance chairman Albert Ho, previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. Both Lee and Chow have remained in detention since 2021 following their arrests. Mitigation hearings are scheduled to begin later in August 2026 before final sentences are handed down.
Legal reasoning and core charges
The 16-page ruling was delivered by three government-approved national security judges. Prosecutors focused on the group's long-standing political slogan calling to 'end one-party dictatorship'. The court ruled that the repeated use of this phrase sought to undermine the constitutional order of the Chinese state by eroding public trust in the Chinese Communist Party.
The defendants intended to cause others to lose confidence in the CCP by stirring up hostility and causing division, so as to achieve the objective of undermining the fundamental basic system.
The judges ruled that even if the defendants intended their advocacy to remain non-violent, the political objective itself breached the law.
Even though they believed and envisaged that the acts of resistance may not necessarily involve the use of violence or threat of violence, those acts would be in breach of the NSL, and carry a risk of long-term imprisonment.
- Chinese military units clear pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing.
- Hong Kong authorities ban the annual vigil and Beijing enacts the National Security Law.
- The Hong Kong Alliance votes to dissolve amid police investigations.
- Hong Kong High Court convicts Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung of inciting subversion.
Decades of Tiananmen commemoration
The Hong Kong Alliance had organized annual candlelit vigils in Victoria Park every June 4 since 1989, commemorating the Chinese military crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing. Hong Kong was long one of the only places on Chinese territory where public remembrance of the events was permitted. Lee was in Beijing during the crackdown in June 1989 delivering donations from Hong Kong residents before being briefly detained and released on June 8. Chow, a Cambridge University natural sciences graduate and lawyer, had attended the vigils since primary school. During the trial, Lee rejected accusations of malice against the ruling party.
I have no enmity in my heart, only love.
Authorities banned the annual vigils in 2020, and the Alliance voted to dissolve in September 2021 after police demanded its operational and financial records.
Diplomatic and rights reactions
The ruling drew condemnation from European governments and international human rights organisations. Germany and France issued a joint statement demanding the immediate release of Chow, who was awarded the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law in 2023. The European Union called on authorities in Hong Kong to protect the space for independent civil society, freedom of speech, and the right to peaceful assembly. Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated that the verdict shows how public acts of mourning have been turned into criminal offences in Hong Kong.
