Hong Kong activists face up to seven years for Tiananmen vigils

Three individuals who led the annual memorials for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong have been handed sentences ranging from five to seven years under the controversial national security law.

Lee Cheuk‑yan (69) and Chow Hang‑tung (41) were found guilty of inciting others to subvert state power and received seven‑year sentences. Albert Ho (74), who pleaded guilty earlier, was sentenced to five years.

The cases stem from their leadership of the Hong Kong Alliance, a group that formed in 1989 to support pro‑democracy students and, in later years, to hold vigils commemorating the Beijing crackdown. Those gatherings were banned in 2020 on Covid‑19 grounds and never resumed; the national security law, introduced that same year, broadened the scope of punishable dissent.

The court found the group's slogan—"ending one‑party dictatorship"—to be a direct challenge to the Communist Party, qualifying it as incitement under the law. Following the verdict, Lee bowed in a gesture of prayer as he was escorted out, while Chow hand‑kissed the gallery and spoke of her willingness to accept arrest for democracy.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemned the sentences as punishment of peaceful dissent and a threat to collective memory. The Hong Kong Alliance was also fined 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars for its role in the prolonged protests.

The rulings underscore the tightening grip on civil expression in the city and the ongoing struggle to honour the history of the Tiananmen protests. The case remains a stark reminder that the legacy of 1989 continues to reverberate across both mainland China and the former colony.