Hong Kong’s Tiananmen activists sentenced to up to seven years in prison
Three Hong Kong activists who organised annual vigils commemorating Beijing’s 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square protests have been handed prison sentences of up to seven years. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were convicted last month of inciting others to subvert state power, under the city’s controversial national security law. A third defendant, Albert […]
Three Hong Kong activists – Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, Chow Hang-tung, 41, and Albert Ho, 74 – have been sentenced to prison terms of up to seven years each. The sentences were handed down for their roles in organising annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. The activists were convicted of inciting others to subvert state power under Hong Kong's controversial national security law, which came into force in 2020.
The national security law criminalises a wider range of dissenting acts, and critics argue it has eroded Hong Kong's autonomy and created a climate of fear. Lee, Chow, and Ho were charged in 2021 and faced up to 10 years in prison. The court also imposed a HK$1.5m fine on the Hong Kong Alliance, the group the activists led. The activists' sentences have been widely condemned, with Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch expressing concern over the harsh penalties and the chilling effect on free speech and commemoration of a pivotal moment in modern Chinese history.
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