Hong Kong sentences three Tiananmen vigil organizers to terms of five to seven years

On September 11, 2026, a Hong Kong court sentenced three former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China: former vice-chair Chow Hang-tung received seven years and three months, while former chairs Lee Cheuk-yan and Albert Ho received seven years and five years and two months respectively. The Alliance was also fined HK$1.5 million. Reuters, the Associated Press and Human Rights Watch independently report matching dates, names and penalties.

Chow and Lee were convicted on August 21, 2026 of “inciting subversion”; Ho had pleaded guilty in January. All three formerly led the now-disbanded Alliance, which organized Hong Kong’s annual Victoria Park candlelight vigils commemorating the June Fourth crackdown. Reports say the court treated calls to “end one-party dictatorship” as important to the case.

Hong Kong authorities maintain that national-security cases are decided on conduct and evidence rather than political views. UN human-rights officials, international rights groups and several foreign governments argue that the case criminalizes peaceful expression and commemoration and have called for the convictions or sentences to be quashed. This record attributes those legal facts, official positions and rights assessments separately.

Verification note: the sentencing date, defendants, prison terms, offense and fine are corroborated across independent reliable sources. China Rights Record has not independently authenticated the complete sentencing judgment, so the court’s full reasoning, sentence calculations and any appeals remain under review.