Hong Kong court convicts Tiananmen vigil organizers of subversion

A Hong Kong court convicted Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, of inciting subversion under the national security law. They organized annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. The verdict, delivered on August 21, 2026, after a trial that began in January, carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. A third defendant, Albert Ho, pleaded guilty earlier. The case has been widely criticized as exemplifying the erosion of freedom of expression in Hong Kong, with international human rights groups condemning the convictions. The activists have been detained since 2021, and public commemoration of the crackdown has been effectively banned since the law's imposition in 2020.