Two ex-organizers of Hong Kong’s long-standing vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown were found guilty on Friday in a national security case brought under a law imposed by China that effectively ended the city’s once vibrant pro-democracy movement. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged in 2021 with inciting subversion under the national security law. Despite pleading not guilty, they face a maximum prison sentence of 10 years, with the alliance also being convicted.
This verdict adds to the series of legal actions taken against Hong Kong’s previously active pro-democracy movement, which has been largely dismantled by authorities in Hong Kong and China. The candlelight vigil organized by the alliance for three decades was the main public event drawing tens of thousands annually to mourn the victims in China. However, the event was banned in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, just before the imposition of the security law by Beijing to suppress the massive anti-government protests of 2019.
Observers see this trial as a signal of declining freedom of expression in the former British colony since its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Lee and Chow are awaiting sentencing, with the judges deferring the detailed reasons for the conviction, stating that the full judgment will be published online later. The charge of inciting subversion, common in mainland China to criminalize human rights activists, lawyers, and intellectuals, including the late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, was used against them.
During the trial, prosecutors focused on the alleged call by the alliance to incite others to overthrow the leadership of China’s ruling Communist Party through illegal means, citing the demand to “end one-party rule.” Lee argued that the intention was to promote democracy and let people choose their leaders, opposing the Communist Party’s dictatorship enforcement.
Chow, who represented herself, emphasized that “ending one-party rule” means limiting unrestricted power in the state and criticized the reversal of the standard for determining right and wrong in this case. The trial, which was expected to last 75 days, concluded in just 24 days, with another defendant entering a guilty plea, possibly leading to a reduced sentence. Supporters gathered outside the court, expressing doubts about the allegations against the alliance.
The 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square, where hundreds, possibly thousands, lost their lives as military forces intervened, marked a turning point in China’s modern history, separating economic reform from political liberalization. Following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the former vigil site in Hong Kong was replaced by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups. Beijing defended the 2020 security law as necessary for the city’s stability, leading to the imprisonment of numerous prominent activists under the same law, including media mogul Jimmy Lai. The drastic political changes resulted in the dissolution of many civil society groups, including the alliance.