(Hong Kong — August 21, 2026) A Hong Kong court on Friday convicted two former leaders of a group that organized the city’s annual Tiananmen Square vigils, a verdict highlighting the continuing restrictions on political advocacy, dissent and public remembrance of the 1989 crackdown in China.
In a ruling announced Friday, a panel of three judges designated to hear national security cases found Lee Cheuk-yan, the former chair of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, and former vice chair Chow Hang-tung guilty of inciting subversion.
Both had previously organized Hong Kong’s annual candlelight vigils commemorating the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Sentencing for Lee and Chow will occur at a later date, while another former vice chair, Albert Ho, pleaded guilty in January 2026.
Hong Kong, on China’s southern coast, is a Special Administrative Region under the “one country, two systems” framework. Its civil society and political freedoms have come under increasing pressure since Beijing imposed the national security law in June 2020.
The prosecution accused the defendants of inciting others in Hong Kong between July 1, 2020, and September 8, 2021, to engage in acts aimed at overthrowing state power. The central dispute concerned the political platform long upheld by the Hong Kong Alliance.
In a summary of the ruling, the judges said that after the National Security Law took effect, the defendants knowingly continued the Alliance’s position of resistance, despite its call to “end one-party rule,” which the court said ran contrary to the Chinese Constitution.
The judges also said the defendants’ comparisons between the June 4 incident and the 2019 Hong Kong protests were intended to arouse public hostility toward the Chinese Communist Party.
Courtroom records indicate that Lee, 69, entered the dock wearing a blue windbreaker and smiled toward the public gallery. Chow, 41, appeared noticeably thinner as she held documents but also maintained a smile while the verdict was delivered.
During the trial, the prosecution presented extensive evidence, including eulogies from June 4 candlelight vigils, exhibits from memorial venues and interview footage dating to 1990. The defense, including Lee and Chow, argued that the Hong Kong Alliance consistently adhered to nonviolence.
They maintained that the call to “end one-party rule” sought to restore political power to the people rather than advocate the violent overthrow of the government. The court ultimately rejected those arguments and found Lee and Chow guilty.
The proceedings have been adjourned until August 28 for a mitigation hearing involving all three defendants. Lee and Chow could face prison terms of up to 10 years under the national security law.
The convictions further restrict the ability of Hong Kong activists to publicly commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown, whose annual candlelight vigil was once among the world’s largest. ChinaAid, founded by Bob Fu, who was a student leader during the Tiananmen Square demonstrations, has previously reported on the arrests of Alliance leaders and the closure of the city’s June 4 Museum.
Gao Zhensai is a special correspondent for ChinaAid News. Founded in 2002, ChinaAid is an international Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China through advocacy, legal support, and international awareness campaigns.