Three former leaders of the now-disbanded alliance behind Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil have been sentenced to up to seven years and three months in jail under the national security law for inciting subversion by calling for an end to “one-party dictatorship” in mainland China.Three High Court judges on Friday also ordered the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China to pay a HK$1.5 million (US$191,300) fine in three months, as they brought the high-profile trial at West Kowloon Court to a close.The alliance, former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan and former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung were convicted last month after the judges found they had incited public hatred towards the Communist Party of China and advocated the group’s illegal agenda through various public events, including what used to be the only large-scale commemoration on Chinese soil of Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1989.Chief Superintendent Steve Li of the police force’s national security department speaks to the media outside West Kowloon Court after the verdict. Photo: Edmond SoLee, 69, and Chow, 41, were sentenced to seven years and seven years and three months behind bars, respectively.Former vice-chairman Albert Ho Chun-yan, 74, was sentenced to five years and two months after pleading guilty ahead of the trial.Beijing’s liaison officer in Hong Kong praised the court’s ruling and said the defendants deserved the tough sentences for attacking the party’s leadership.Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the rule of law could only be upheld by imposing severe penalties on the accused.