Tiananmen vigil activists sought end to communist rule in name of democracy, Hong Kong nat. sec trial told

2026-01-27 - 08:15

Three Hong Kong Tiananmen vigil activists had sought the end of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s rule in the name of “so-called democracy,” prosecutors have argued during a high-profile national security trial. From left: Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, Chow Hang-tung. Photos: HKFP. The court also heard on Tuesday that the prosecution will seek to apply the co-conspirator rule – a legal principle allowing statements by one conspirator to be used against others – in the case against Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung, and the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China. Lee, Chow, and the Alliance stand accused of inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law. They have pleaded not guilty to the offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars. Albert Ho, a co-defendant and former chair of the Alliance, pleaded guilty when the trial opened last week. The prosecution has accused the Alliance of advocating for the end of the CCP’s leadership in China, which it argues breached the country’s constitution and amounted to inciting subversion. The Alliance was behind Hong Kong’s decades-long annual candlelit vigils which commemorated those killed in the Tiananmen crackdown. On June 4, 1989, months of student-led demonstrations were ended as the Chinese military crackdown down on protesters in Beijing. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed. ‘Real democracy’ On Tuesday, Ned Lai – the lead prosecutor in the case – continued reading out the prosecution’s opening statement, outlining the accusations against the activists and the Alliance. The court saw footage of wide-ranging past remarks by Lee, Chow, and Ho – some years old. The court heard that, in May 2019, Lee told a US congressional hearing that his generation “want[ed] to change China” and “to fight for democracy in China.” Lee also said during a protest in May 2020 that the Alliance’s demand was the democratisation of China, adding that “a dictatorship should not exist” in the country. A corrections vehicle arrives at West Kowloon Law Courts Building on January 22, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The court also heard that, at a protest in May 2018, Ho said the prerequisite for a democratic China was an end to the CCP’s one-party rule: “We have to end one-party rule so that we can achieve genuine democracy, freedom, and a constitutional China,” he said in Cantonese. At the 2018 Tiananmen remembrance vigil – where thousands would gather in Causeway Bay to commemorate the dead – Chow said freedoms in Hong Kong hinged on democracy in China. “As long as one-party rule persists, there will not be real democracy in China, nor genuine freedom in Hong Kong,” she told participants in Cantonese. Prosecutor Lai also drew the court’s attention to remarks made by Chow in an interview in May 2021, during which she said there was a “fundamental conflict” between the Alliance’s advocacy and CCP rule. He also told the court that the prosecution will rely on the Alliance’s public statements on Facebook, Twitter, and in its newsletters, as well as information relating to the activists serving as company directors of the Alliance or members of its executive committee. Defence lawyers told the court on Tuesday that they only became aware of the prosecution’s intention to apply the co-conspirator rule after the trial had started. Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigil, 2019. File photo: Todd R. Darling/HKFP. They urged the prosecution to clearly define the scope of the evidence falling within the remit of the legal principle before presenting it in court. While prosecutors did not elaborate on how the rule would be applied, it is expected that they will argue that remarks by Ho can be used against Lee and Chow. Historical vigil footage Separately, Judge Alex Lee, one of the three designated national security judges presiding over the case, raised concerns as to whether the prosecution needs to play footage of Tiananmen vigils dating back two or three decades. Judge Lee said that, as China amended its constitution in 2018 to include the leadership of the CCP as the “defining feature” of the country’s socialist system, any remarks prior to the amendment may not have been illegal. Not playing the historical footage could save the court significant time, he added. While prosecutors welcomed the idea, Chow, who is representing herself, said playing the footage in full would provide necessary context for the defendants’ past remarks, arguing that the prosecution had taken such remarks out of context. Judge Lee adjourned the proceedings to Thursday to allow both parties to discuss the matter. Infographic chart showing known prosecutions in Hong Kong since the introduction of the National Security Law in June 2020. Graphic: John Saeki & Nicholas Shearman/AFP. For more than three decades, the Alliance held annual vigils in Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 crackdown in Beijing. Hundreds – or thousands by some estimates – died as the People’s Liberation Army dispersed pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The Alliance chanted slogans calling for democracy in China and an end to one-party rule until the vigil was banned by the authorities in 2020. The Alliance disbanded in 2021 after authorities banned the vigil again and arrested its leadership.