gg2
Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil organizers guilty
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Hong Kong court found Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung guilty of inciting subversion. The verdict caps a crackdown on Tiananmen vigils under the 2020 national security law.
Background
Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, which organized annual vigils in Victoria Park commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The vigils, once the only large-scale public commemoration on Chinese soil, were banned in 2020 after Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong following the 2019 protests. The trial began in January and lasted 24 days; a third defendant, Albert Ho, pleaded guilty earlier.
How it unfolded
- May 1989Hong Kong Alliance founded to support pro-democracy students; weeks later, Tiananmen Square crackdown occurs.
- Jun 4, 1989Chinese troops and tanks crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
- 2020Hong Kong national security law imposed; annual vigil banned.
- Sep 2021Lee and Chow charged with inciting subversion; they have been in custody since.
- Jan 2026Trial begins; Albert Ho pleads guilty.
- May 2026Chow, representing herself, tells court the law itself is on trial.
- Aug 21, 2026Court finds Lee and Chow guilty of inciting subversion; sentencing later.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Prosecutors argued the defendants endangered national security in the name of human rights, and the case was not political.
- Critics
- Amnesty International said the case relies on vague, overly broad definitions of 'subversion'.
- Defense
- Chow told the court that the law itself was on trial.