Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil activists persisted with calls for democracy despite Beijing’s warning, court hears

2026-02-02 - 11:47

Two Tiananmen vigil activists facing national security charges persisted with their long-standing advocacy for democracy in China, with one doing so despite a warning from a Beijing official, a Hong Kong court has heard. Third from left: Albert Ho, Chow Hang-tung, and Lee Cheuk-yan are on stage during a Tiananmen vigil in Victoria Park on June 4, 2018. File photo: Kris Cheng/HKFP. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung are standing trial for “inciting subversion” under the Beijing-imposed national security law, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail. Both are former leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised decades of candlelight vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing, until authorities banned them in 2020. On Monday, prosecutors finished playing footage of speeches made by the pair at protests and in media interviews, highlighting to the court their comments relating to the Alliance’s advocacy of “ending one-party rule” in China. In a media interview in June 2021, Chow said in Cantonese that the Alliance “existed to pursue democracy in China” and that the demand to end one-party rule would never be altered. Her remark came after Luo Huining, then-director of Beijing’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, said those advocating for the end of one-party rule were destroying “one country, two systems” – Hong Kong’s governing framework – and were the “true enemy to Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity.” Asked if the Alliance would change its advocacy in the wake of Luo’s comment, Chow said in the interview that it would be pointless for the group to exist if it changed its course. ‘For 32 years’ The court heard that, during a string of street rallies in 2021, Chow called on residents to attend the candlelight vigil for the 32nd anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown and to light a candle if the gathering was eventually banned by the authorities. “Our determination to vindicate June 4 [Tiananmen crackdown] remains unchanged,” Chow said in Cantonese in a clip from May 2021. “We shall persist in ending the one-party rule.” In a separate media interview in April 2021, Lee was heard saying that the Alliance would not change its advocacy in relation to the “red line” of the national security law, which Beijing imposed in June 2020 following the massive 2019 protests and unrest. People hold candles in Causeway Bay near a street booth while police display warning flags. A LED light display that reads “Release all political prisoners.” Photo: Jimmy Lam/HKFP. “We have carried on advocating for the five operational goals for 32 years, and we shall continue to do so,” Lee was heard saying in Cantonese. He was referring to the Alliance’s main political demands, which included ending one-party rule and democracy in China. Prosecutors have argued that the Alliance’s advocacy for an end to one-party rule breached China’s constitution, which stipulates that the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is the “defining feature” of the country’s socialist system. Video clips showing Chow at a demonstration in support of Chinese dissidents and in an interview with scholar Simon Shen were also played in court on Monday. On both occasions, Chow said the democracy movements in China and in Hong Kong were interlinked. One prosecution witness to testify Separately, defence lawyer Erik Shum, representing Lee, told the court that he expected to cross-examine only one prosecution witness and that the questioning should be completed in a day. Afterwards, the defence will prepare for a written submission arguing that the defendants have no case to answer, in an attempt to have the charges quashed, he said. Alex Lee, one of the three designated national security judges presiding over the case, adjourned the proceedings until Wednesday for the defence to cross-examine the witness. A Correctional Service Department vehicle arrives at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on January 22, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The high-profile national security trial is scheduled to last for 75 days. A third defendant, Albert Ho, pleaded guilty when the trial opened last month, after two delays since last year. Chow and Lee Cheuk-yan have been behind bars for over 1,600 days since they were arrested in September 2021. For over three decades, the Alliance held annual vigils in Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 crackdown, when hundreds, perhaps thousands, died as Beijing sent troops to disperse demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square. The Alliance chanted slogans calling for democracy and an end to one-party rule during the annual vigils, which were first banned in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The following year, the Alliance disbanded after the government banned the vigil again and arrested its leaders.