A Hong Kong court has sentenced three prominent pro-democracy activists to between five and seven years in prison for inciting subversion, in a case that has drawn widespread international condemnation. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41 — former chair and vice-chair respectively of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China — each received sentences of seven years and seven years and three months. Albert Ho, 74, a former lawmaker who pleaded guilty in January, was sentenced to five years and two months. All three have been in custody since they were charged in 2021, and their sentences are expected to include time already served. The Hong Kong Alliance itself faces a fine of HK$1.5 million.

The trio led the organisation that for decades arranged annual candlelight vigils in Hong Kong's Victoria Park to mourn those killed on June 4, 1989, when Beijing sent troops and tanks to crush pro-democracy protests centred on Tiananmen Square. Hong Kong and Macau were the only places on Chinese soil where such public commemorations were permitted — a mark of the city's distinct freedoms under the "one country, two systems" framework. That space closed when Beijing imposed the National Security Law in 2020 following a year of mass protests, effectively outlawing the vigils.

In a verdict delivered in August, three High Court judges ruled that the Alliance's founding slogan — "end one-party dictatorship" — constituted an attempt to subvert the constitutional order. The court found that Article 1 of the Chinese constitution, which enshrines Communist Party leadership as the country's fundamental system, applied in Hong Kong, and that calling for an end to that leadership amounted to subversion under the security law. Although judges acknowledged that the case involved no violence and no specific plan or timetable, they ruled the offence was nonetheless "of a serious nature." Defence arguments that the defendants had genuinely believed their activities were protected by Hong Kong's constitutional freedoms of speech were rejected. Chow, a barrister who represented herself, told a pre-sentencing hearing she had "nothing to repent for" and vowed to continue her efforts to rehabilitate the memory of June 4. As she was escorted from court she raised both arms and waved at supporters; her mother said she had maintained high spirits throughout.

The sentencing drew swift condemnation from human rights organisations and governments. Human Rights Watch's Asia director Elaine Pearson said the court had "violated the activists' rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly" by punishing what amounted to ordinary democratic activity. Amnesty International called the outcome "a triple tragedy" — for the activists themselves, for survivors of the Tiananmen crackdown, and for generations of Hong Kong residents denied the space to discuss a defining moment in modern Chinese history. Taiwan's top China policy body said the "pursuit of democracy and human rights is not a crime." By contrast, Hong Kong's national security police chief Steve Li called the sentences "a stern warning" to anyone contemplating similar acts. The court also indicated it would separately rule on the fate of the "Pillar of Shame" — a sculpture by Danish artist Jens Galschiot long displayed at the University of Hong Kong to commemorate Tiananmen victims, removed in 2021 — after prosecutors sought its confiscation as evidence.