HONG KONG’S High Court on Thursday will commence a landmark trial against the former leaders of a pro-democracy group that for decades organised annual candlelight vigils commemorating Beijing’s bloody 1989 crackdown on student-led protests in Tiananmen Square.
Reutres cited today that the case, expected to last 75 days, represents one of the most significant tests of the city’s national security law, introduced in 2020 following widespread anti-government demonstrations.
Chow Hang-tung, 40, the former vice-chair of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, together with fellow former Alliance figures Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho, faces up to ten years’ imprisonment for “inciting subversion of state power” under the sweeping legislation.
The Alliance, founded in May 1989 in the aftermath of a protest against Beijing’s martial law in the mainland, quickly became the focal point of Hong Kong’s annual June 4 commemorations.
Its inaugural vigil in 1990 at Victoria Park drew thousands, establishing a near three-decade tradition of remembrance.
The city’s political landscape shifted dramatically after the 2019 pro-democracy protests, which prompted Beijing to impose the national security law on June 30, 2020.
Subsequent vigils and gatherings were banned under the law, and participants faced arrest and prosecution.
Chow was first detained in 2021 for promoting an unauthorised assembly marking June 4, and later faced repeated charges relating to the Alliance’s activities.
“Chow, Lee and Ho have been charged under a law that criminalises acts deemed to threaten state power,” legal experts note, highlighting the severity of the potential sentences.
“The trial has already witnessed a series of legal battles, including Chow’s failed bid to end the proceedings and a prior High Court ruling overturning her and others’ convictions for refusing to provide information to national security authorities—a decision described by the court as correcting a “miscarriage of justice.”
Over the years, authorities have cracked down on the Alliance and its commemorative events. Police raided the June 4 museum in 2021, arrested multiple members, and barred overseas witnesses from participating in the trial.
Eight activists, including Chow, were previously jailed for up to 14 months for their involvement in banned vigils, while 23 others were detained in 2023 for “breaching public peace” during anniversary observances.
The trial opens amid a broader backdrop of tightening controls on dissent in Hong Kong. Observers note that its outcome could send a chilling signal to the city’s remaining pro-democracy movement and shape the legal limits of civil activism under Beijing’s enhanced authority. - January 22, 2026
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