In brief
Activists Lee Cheuk‑yan, Chow Hang‑tung, and Albert Ho received prison terms of up to seven years for organising protests commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. The convictions come after the Hong Kong Alliance’s vigils were banned in 2020 and the national security law was enforced. Critics say the rules crush dissent and erase collective memory in Hong Kong. The court also fined the Alliance HK$1.5 million. Human rights groups condemn the harsh sentences as a violation of freedom of expression.
Three Hong Kong activists who organised yearly vigils to remember Beijing’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been handed prison sentences of up to seven years.
Lee Cheuk‑yan (69) and Chow Hang‑tung (41) were convicted last month under the city’s national security law for inciting subversion. Albert Ho (74) pleaded guilty in January and received a five‑year term. Each accused of “organising, planning or participating in unlawful acts” against state power.
The vigils, once drawing 100,000 participants, banned in 2020 under Covid‑19 rules, never resumed. The law, now in force, makes dissent illegal and has critics warning it erodes Hong Kong’s autonomy.
Court’s verdict was greeted with mixed emotions – Lee appeared to pray while Chow blew a kiss to the gallery. His mother urged the public not to feel guilty.
The Hong Kong Alliance was fined HK$1.5 million. Amnesty International called the sentencing a “triple tragedy” for activists, victims of Tiananmen, and Hong Kongers denied free remembrance. Human Rights Watch highlighted how “the harsh sentences expose the cruelty of a government that fears memory.”
