Security was tight outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Friday morning as guilty verdicts were handed down inside against Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan on charges of inciting subversion over their roles in organizing candlelit vigils commemorating the deadly 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. Photo by May James/EPA
Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Two Hong Kong activists who organized vigils to commemorate those killed in a crackdown by the Chinese military on the June 4, 1989, Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests were facing up to 10 years in prison after being convicted Friday of inciting subversion.
Chow Hang-tung, 41, and Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, who had been in custody since 2021, "incited other persons to organize, plan, commit or participate in acts by unlawful means with a view to subverting state power."
The two leaders of the now-dissolved Hong Kong Alliance organized the vigils, which had been held annually on June 4 since 1990, after they were banned in 2020 after a tough new National Security Law was imposed from Beijing, following huge street protests that rocked the territory the previous year.
Former Democratic Party lawmaker Albert Ho, 74, who was charged alongside Chow and Lee, pleaded guilty at the start of the trial in January.
