HK Alliance, leaders found guilty in subversion case

On Friday, the High Court in Hong Kong convicted the group responsible for June 4th vigils and two of its former leaders for inciting subversion, in violation of the National Security Law (NSL). The defendants, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, were found guilty of repeatedly calling for an end to "one-party dictatorship" between July 2020 and September 2021, which the court deemed as targeting the Communist Party of China (CPC) and undermining it.

The court also found the defendants to be hostile towards the party and the Central Government, refusing to make any compromises. The judges rejected the defendants' claims that they genuinely believed they were acting within the law, stating that they had no intention of backing down and were determined to pursue their resistance line.

The court also rejected their arguments that they were merely exercising their right to free speech, as they had not supported violence and had not proposed any specific actions. The defendants, who were the chair, vice-chair, and former vice-chair of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail, with sentencing expected at a later date.