Organizers of Hong Kong’s Tiananmen vigils sentenced to up to 7 years and 3 months in national security case
- On Friday, September 11, 2026, a Hong Kong court sentenced three former Tiananmen vigil organizers—Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho—to prison for inciting subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building.
- In August, three government-approved judges convicted the trio, ruling their organization's demand to "end one-party dictatorship" carried the notion of overthrowing the Communist Party leadership through unlawful means, criminalizing speech previously considered protected.
- Before sentencing, Chow wrote that the verdict suggests "pursuing democracy is a crime," stating, "I would rather be a criminal than a person who betrays their conscience." Lee testified his calls for reform stemmed from love for the people, not enmity.
- The disappearance of the annual candlelight vigil at Victoria Park marks the end of public commemorations that distinguished Hong Kong's civil liberties. Urania Chiu, an Oxford Brookes University law lecturer, said the national security law "blurred the boundaries between the two systems."
- Beijing defends the security laws as necessary to restore order, while critics argue the case symbolizes the erosion of the rule of law. Zhou Fengsuo, a former Tiananmen Square protester, told CNN, "Authorities can extinguish the candles in Victoria Park, but they cannot extinguish the memory.
63 Articles
63 Articles
Three activists in Hong Kong have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to over seven years for organizing commemorations of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The activists were convicted last month, and the sentences have now been determined. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung received sentences of seven years and seven years and three months in prison, respectively. Albert Ho was sentenced to five years and two months. The three we…
Activists Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho, who organized vigils in memory of Tiananmen, received five to seven years in prison on Friday for "inciting subversion." These commemorations of China's 1989 crackdown have been de facto prohibited since Beijing's imposition of a national security law in 2020.
More Tiananmen vigil activists sentenced to prison in Hong Kong security case
A Hong Kong court sentenced three activists — who for years organized vigils in remembrance of China's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown — to prison for terms ranging from five to more than seven years on Friday in a case that is widely seen as a barometer of the city's freedoms as Beijing clamps down on dissent.
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