Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil activists convicted under nat. security law, face up to 10 years in prison

Hong Kong activists Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan have been found guilty of inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law. The verdict came down on August 21, 2026, at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building. Police had formed a perimeter outside the courthouse before the announcement of the verdict. The two, former leaders of the disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, had been jailed since September 2021. The duo face up to ten years in prison.

Chow and Lee were accused by prosecutors of urging others to overthrow the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through their calls for "ending one-party rule" in China. This key tenet of the group since its formation in 1989. During the trial, Lee, Ho and Chow were identified as having "all along been hostile towards the CCP and the Central Government under its leadership."

They had adhered to resisting the Central Government and refusing to make any compromises after the national security law was implemented, the judges noted.

While the activists did not propose specific methods or timelines for achieving their goal of "ending one-party dictatorship," the judges compared their actions to the June 4th Incident in 1989, the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The judges concluded that the defendants had spread the goal of "ending one-party dictatorship" even after the security law was passed, despite not advocating violence.