Trial begins for three Hong Kong activists who organised Tiananmen vigil

The national security trial of three pro-democracy activists who organised Hong Kong’s annual memorial for the Tiananmen Square massacre is due to begin on Thursday. Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho are charged with inciting subversion under Hong Kong’s national security law and face a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment if convicted.

The trial is one of the most high-profile national security cases to be heard in Hong Kong since Beijing imposed the law in 2020; the law has a near-100% conviction rate. The three defendants were key members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, the group that for decades organised the annual vigil.

Until the vigil was banned in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was the only mass memorial event for the massacre on Chinese territory and had been a symbol of Hong Kong’s autonomy. Organisers estimated that 180,000 people attended the 2019 vigil. Chow has been detained for more than four years awaiting trial; Lee and Ho, former legislators, have also been previously sentenced for convictions of unauthorised assembly in relation to protests and vigils held during the 2019-20 pro-democracy movement.

Ho said in 2021 that he was on "the right side of history," and a related 2019 conviction of organising and participating in an unauthorised assembly was upheld by Hong Kong’s top court in 2024.

Key Topics

Politics, Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, Hong Kong Alliance, Tiananmen Square