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Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, were found guilty of inciting subversion at West Kowloon Court in Hong Kong on Friday. The pair, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, face up to 10 years in prison under the national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020, Al Jazeera reported. Sentencing is expected at a later date.
The alliance organized the annual candlelight vigil in Victoria Park marking the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, for three decades the only large-scale public commemoration of the event on Chinese soil. Authorities banned the gathering in 2020, weeks before the security law took effect. Lee and Chow were charged in 2021 and have been held in pre-trial custody since late that year. A third defendant, veteran lawmaker Albert Ho, pleaded guilty earlier and will be sentenced separately.
Prosecutors argued the alliance incited subversion by calling for an end to what it described as one-party dictatorship, and said the group fostered public hatred toward Beijing. The defense said the campaign sought democratic reform, promoted peaceful protest and never asked anyone to break the law. Chow, a barrister who ran her own defense, told the court the law itself was on trial.
The case was heard by a panel of three judges selected for national security proceedings rather than a jury, CNN reported. They ruled the alliance's agenda breached the Chinese constitution and was unlawful despite the absence of any use or threat of violence.
Security around the courthouse was heavy. Police checked the identities of people lining up to attend and searched their bags. Tang Ngok-kwan, a former member of the alliance, said officers barred him from entering the building because he refused to hand over copies of past news reports about the 1989 crackdown.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, a former security chief, welcomed the verdict. "Their conspiracy was abundantly clear, which must be brought to justice," he said on Friday. The Hong Kong government has consistently said the security laws restored order and that rights and freedoms remain protected.
The verdict follows the conviction of media owner Jimmy Lai, 78, who was sentenced to 20 years on national security charges earlier this year. It also came days after Chinese leader Xi Jinping publicly praised the decision to clamp down on the 1989 protests, a rare official reference to the period. Most leaders of Hong Kong's former democracy movement have been jailed, have left the city or have stopped speaking publicly.
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