Hong Kong Court Convicts Tiananmen Vigil Organizers of 'Inciting Subversion' Under National Security Law

For three decades, Hong Kong's Victoria Park was the only place on Chinese soil where tens of thousands gathered annually to mourn the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The organizers maintained they were exercising lawful free speech to demand democratic reform. On Friday, a Hong Kong High Court resolved that tension under the city's new legal framework, ruling that the group's core slogan—"end one-party dictatorship"—was not protected speech, but a criminal attempt to overthrow the Chinese state.[3][4]

The court convicted the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, along with its former leaders Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, of "incitement to subversion" under the 2020 National Security Law. A third defendant, 74-year-old former lawmaker Albert Ho, had already pleaded guilty to the same charge in January.[3][5][7]

The judgment, delivered by three government-approved national security judges, explicitly clarified the boundaries of legal opposition in the territory. Justices Alex Lee Wan-tang, Johnny Chan Jong-herng, and Anna Lai Yuen-kee ruled that the Communist Party's leadership is the "defining feature" of China's fundamental system. Therefore, they concluded, any advocacy aimed at removing the Party from power is tantamount to undermining the state constitution.[2][4][7]

The prosecution centered on the Alliance's decades-long peaceful advocacy and its operational manifesto. The judges wrote that the defendants had used the annual candlelight vigils to "stir up the hostility of their target audience toward the CPC" and intentionally encouraged supporters to wait for the right time to end the ruling party's leadership by unlawful means. The court dismissed the defense's argument that the Alliance was merely advocating for a democratic transition that did not inherently exclude the Party.[2][3][4]

"They did not genuinely believe their words and deeds had not violated the national security law," the judges wrote, asserting that the defendants "refused to pull back from the brink" after the security legislation took effect in June 2020. The panel emphasized that the convictions were based strictly on legal principles and evidence, not political views.[3][6][7]

The verdict drew immediate praise from Beijing and local authorities, who framed it as a necessary defense of the constitutional order. The central government's national security office in Hong Kong stated that the ruling upholds the authority of the law and demonstrates the spirit of the rule of law. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu added that the Alliance had spent years "planting seeds of hatred" against the central government, and that their conspiracy to subvert state power was "abundantly clear."[1][2]

Conversely, the convictions triggered widespread condemnation from international rights organizations and foreign governments, who view the trial as a barometer for the city's civil liberties. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch described the verdict as a deliberate campaign to erase the memory of the Tiananmen crackdown and criminalize public mourning. Representatives from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom also criticized the ruling, stating that peaceful advocacy for human rights is being treated as a national security threat.[4][5]

Throughout the 24-day trial, the defendants remained defiant. Chow Hang-tung, a human rights lawyer who represented herself, argued in her closing statement that the security law itself was on trial, asserting that "speaking the truth has become inciting hatred." Following the verdict, Lee and Chow smiled and waved to supporters in the public gallery before being escorted away by correctional officers.[3][5]

The convictions carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Lee and Chow have already been remanded in custody for nearly three years since their initial arrest in September 2021. The court has scheduled mitigation pleas for August 28, with sentencing to follow at a later date. The ruling effectively cements the permanent ban on the city's once-massive Tiananmen commemorations, closing a chapter on Hong Kong's legacy as a hub for Chinese democratic activism.[2][4]