Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigil organisers convicted by court

Two organisers of Hong Kong's decades-old vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown have been convicted under a controversial national security law.

Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung's fate was decided by a court on Friday morning.

They'd pleaded not guilty to inciting subversion, and their sentence will be determined at a later date. They face a maximum prison term of 10 years.

The case marked the latest involving Hong Kong's once-vibrant pro-democracy movement, which has been largely dismantled under the national security law.

The two activists were leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. It's now disbanded, but for decades it organised candlelight vigils for victims of the Tiananmen Square crackdown, drawing tens of thousands of people every year.

Hundreds of anti-Chinese Communist Party protesters, who were demanding democratic reform, were killed when soldiers opened fire on crowds gathered in the square on 4 June 1989.

Some estimates put the death toll at more than 1,000 people.

The vigil was banned in 2020 during the first year of the pandemic and has since been permanently outlawed.

Lee and Chow were charged in 2021 under a national security law imposed by Beijing. It's the same law as used to jail pro-democracy former media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

Beijing asserts itself over former British territory

China has tightened its grip on Hong Kong since quelling large-scale street protests in 2019.

Critics say Xi Jinping's government has eroded civil liberties it had promised to preserve for 50 years when Britain handed over the city state in 1997. Hong Kongers have been able to come to the UK via a special visa since 2021.

Prosecutors in Lee and Chow's trial insisted the case was not political and focused on what they saw as a call to incite the overthrowing of China's ruling party, pointing to their former alliance's goal of "ending one-party rule".

Lee and Chow, a barrister who defended herself, said it was about promoting democracy.

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Supporters of the pair gathered outside court ahead of Friday's verdict. Another defendant in the case, Albert Ho, had pleaded guilty back in January in the hope of securing a reduced sentence.

Lee and Chow are expected to plead for lesser penalties at a later hearing.

(c) Sky News 2026: Hong Kong's Tiananmen vigil organisers convicted by court