01/22/2026, 07:2001/22/2026, 07:20
The trial of three leading pro-democracy activists has begun in Hong Kong for organizing the annual Tiananmen vigils to commemorate the bloody crackdown on Beijing’s democracy movement in 1989. Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho are charged with incitement to subversion under the national security law. If convicted, they face a prison sentence of up to ten years.
Former Hong Kong Democratic Party leader Emily Lau Wai-Hing is also on trial.Image: keystone
Former politician Albert Ho is expected to plead guilty, according to media reports. The trial at the West Kowloon Magistrate Court is scheduled to last 75 days.
Human Rights Watch: Beijing is trying to rewrite the truth
“Today’s trial is another attempt by the Chinese authorities to rewrite the truth about the Tiananmen massacre,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. She called on the Hong Kong government to release the defendants.
Thousands attend a vigil in Hong Kong.Image: keystone
The Tiananmen vigils in Hong Kong were the only public event on Chinese soil to commemorate the bloody suppression of China’s democracy movement in 1989. In mainland China, the topic is almost completely censored – and does not appear in media reports or official history books.
After the central government in Beijing enforced a national security law for Hong Kong in the summer of 2020, the government stopped the Tiananmen vigil. The former British crown colony’s security law is aimed at pro-democracy opposition and activities that Beijing views as subversive, separatist, terrorist or conspiratorial. (sda/dpa)
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