There are ‘no lawful means’ to end CCP leadership, prosecution says as nat. sec trial of Tiananmen vigil activists starts

2026-01-25 - 21:07

Hong Kong prosecutors have said there are “no lawful means to end the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership,” as the national security trial began for three activists who used to organise the city’s annual Tiananmen vigils. A corrections vehicle arrives at West Kowloon Law Courts Building on January 22, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, and Chow Hang-tung appeared at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Thursday to stand trial for inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law, after the proceedings were twice delayed since last year. Lee, 68, and Chow, 40, pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars. Ho, 74, pleaded guilty. Lee and Chow have been in custody for over 1,500 days since their arrests in 2021, while Ho has been detained for over 1,300 days. Prosecutors accuse the trio, all former leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, of inciting others to subvert state power by toppling the “fundamental system” of China and overthrowing the country’s central state institutions. The Alliance group has been charged with the same offence. Senior Counsel Priscilia Lam, representing the Alliance, also pleaded not guilty on behalf of the group. ‘Fundamental feature’ Ned Lai, a deputy director of public prosecutions, on Thursday read out a 37-page document detailing the case against Ho, an ex-lawmaker and a former chair of the Alliance, after he pleaded guilty. The Alliance had listed “end one-party rule” as one of its five “goals” since its establishment and had advocated it for years, he said. After the security law came into effect in June 2020, such advocacy amounted to inciting subversion, Lai added. From left: Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, Chow Hang-tung. Photo: HKFP collage. “The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] is the most fundamental feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics,” he said in Cantonese, referring to China’s political system as stipulated under its constitution. “The Alliance’s [call for an] end one-party rule is essentially [a call for] an end to the leadership of the CCP, which is never allowed under the constitution,” he said. “There is no lawful means to end the leadership of the CCP.” Lai said Ho, alongside Lee and Chow, had incited others to support the Alliance’s goals and its operations by recruiting people to participate in the group’s activities or to donate. Through the now-shuttered June 4 Museum, which was operated by the Alliance, the group also published content and held events to promote the idea of ending one-party rule, Lai said. Lai cited Ho’s past remarks dating as far back as 2003, as well as those he made during the city’s large-scale pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019, as evidence of his longstanding advocacy alongside the Alliance to topple the CCP regime. Ho continued the advocacy after the national security law came into force, Lai added. ‘Braving the cold’ The trial, which is expected to last for 75 working days, is being presided over by three judges selected from a pool of jurists designated by Hong Kong’s leader to handle national security cases. A heavy police presence outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on January 22, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Judge Alex Lee, one of the three on the bench, said Ho will be sentenced after the trial is completed and excused the defendant from attending the rest of the proceedings. Entering the courtroom shortly before the hearing began at 10am, Lee Cheuk-yan smiled and waved at those sitting in the public gallery, while Chow took a deep bow, saying in Cantonese: “Thank you for braving the cold through the night.” Around 70 people lined up in the cold for tickets to witness the proceedings in the public gallery on Thursday morning under the watch of heavy police presence. Some, including former Alliance member Tang Ngok-kwan, arrived days earlier to queue. Representatives from foreign consulates in Hong Kong and long-time volunteers of the Alliance were among those observing the trial. Judges adjourned the hearing shortly after the prosecution finished reading out the case against Ho, with judge Lee saying that the formal opening of the prosecution’s case against Chow and Lee, the other two defendants, is expected on Monday. The Tiananmen vigil in Victoria Park on June 4, 2019. File photo: Holmes Chan/HKFP. Meanwhile, the court will handle an application by Chow regarding overseas witnesses on Friday, judge Lee said. The court had previously ruled that Chow would be barred from calling witnesses from abroad to testify virtually in the trial. For more than three decades, the Alliance held annual vigils in Victoria Park to commemorate the Tiananmen Square crackdown. During the vigils, the group chanted slogans calling for democracy in China and an end to one-party rule, alongside other political demands. Hong Kong authorities banned the gathering for the first time in 2020, citing Covid-19 policies. In the following year, the event was banned again for the same reason. Months later, the Alliance disbanded, making them among dozens of civil society groups that shuttered following the enactment of the national security law. The Alliance was founded in May 1989, weeks before the People’s Liberation Army cracked down on protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds or possibly thousands and ending months of student-led demonstrations.