Hong Kong's Tiananmen activists guilty in national security trial

What the report says

Two prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, have been found guilty in a national security case tied to the city’s annual vigils for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to BBC World News. The pair were convicted of inciting others to subvert state power under the China-imposed national security law. A third defendant, former lawmaker Albert Ho, had already pleaded guilty earlier in the proceedings.

The BBC reported that prosecutors said the defendants endangered national security under the banner of human rights, while Chow argued in court that the law itself was effectively being tested. Lee, 69, and Chow, 41, could face up to 10 years in prison, with sentencing to follow later. Ho is 74. The three have been in custody since charges were brought in 2021.

The case centers on the Hong Kong Alliance, a now-defunct group that organized and supported the commemorations. Hong Kong had long been one of the few places in Chinese territory where public memorials for the Beijing crackdown were held, but authorities banned those gatherings in 2020. The BBC noted that the ban came the same year the national security law took effect, expanding the scope of conduct that can be treated as dissent.

Rights groups have argued the law has been applied broadly, and the verdict is likely to be seen as another sign of the shrinking space for public dissent in Hong Kong.