Tiananmen vigil leaders jailed up to 7 years, as group is fined HK$1.5 million

Three former leaders of the disbanded Hong Kong alliance responsible for the annual Tiananmen Square vigil have been sentenced to prison terms of up to seven years and three months each, under the national security law for inciting subversion. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (HKA) was fined HK$1.5 million.

At the West Kowloon Court, three High Court judges found the former alliance leaders guilty of inciting public hatred towards the Chinese Communist Party by comparing Beijing's 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters to local authorities' suppression of the 2019 anti-government protests. Former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan received a seven-year and seven-month sentence, former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung received seven years and three months, and former vice-chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan, who admitted guilt before the trial, was sentenced to five years and two months.

The alliance, established after the 1989 crackdown, organized annual candlelight vigils in Hong Kong's Victoria Park to commemorate the event and demand accountability and democratic reforms across the border. It was the only large-scale commemoration held on Chinese soil. Police banned the vigil in 2020 due to Covid-19, and again in 2021.

Inciting subversion can lead to a maximum of ten years in prison under Hong Kong's national security law.