Three prominent Hong Kong activists who organised the city’s annual vigil to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have gone on trial, facing charges under the controversial national security law. Chow Hang-tung, 40, Lee Cheuk-yan, 68, and Albert Ho, 74, are accused of inciting others to subvert state power.
The trio, who were part of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted. They have been in custody since 2021. Hong Kong used to be one of the only places in Chinese territory where people could publicly mark the deadly 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.
Authorities banned these gatherings in 2020, citing Covid-19 policies, and they have not resumed since. This was also the year the national security law, which criminalises a wider range of dissenting acts, came into force.
In their opening statements, prosecutors argued that one of the Hong Kong Alliance’s slogans – “bring the one-party rule to an end” – was subversive to the Chinese constitution. The trial is expected to last 75 days.
Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Asia, Sarah Brooks, told Reuters that “this case is not about national security. It is about rewriting history and punishing those who refuse to forget the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown.”
Critics say the national security law has created a climate of fear in Hong Kong and weakened the city’s autonomy, but authorities argue it is necessary to maintain stability. The law criminalises acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign or external forces.
