Hong Kong begins national security trial for organisers of Tiananmen vigils

Rights groups condemn trial of three activists accused of ‘inciting subversion of state power.’Published On 22 Jan 2026A landmark trial of three activists who organised vigils marking China’s Tiananmen Square massacre has opened in Hong Kong.Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan, former leaders of the China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="16309" data-entity-type="organization">Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, are charged with “inciting subversion of state power” in the case before the Chinese territory’s High Court.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Australia observes day of mourning for victims of Bondi Beach mass shootinglist 2 of 4‘Catch of the day’: Trump launches new ICE immigration crackdown in Mainelist 3 of 4Israel bombs four Syria-Lebanon border crossings; kills 2 in south Lebanonlist 4 of 4World’s oldest cave art discovered in Indonesia’s Muna islandend of listAs they entered the courtroom on Thursday, Lee waved at his supporters, who waved back and said “good morning” to him.Ho sat calmly, and Chow thanked her supporters for enduring the winds during the night and bowed to them.Minutes later, Lee and Chow pleaded not guilty, while Ho entered a guilty plea.About 70 people queued in the cold on Thursday morning for the public gallery, while dozens of police were deployed around the court.Hong Kong used to host yearly candlelight vigils to mark Beijing’s deadly crackdown on demonstrators in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989, but those events have been banned since 2020.That year, Beijing imposed a national security law on the former British colony in the wake of huge, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests.Rights groups and some foreign governments have criticised cases brought against prominent pro-democracy figures under the law as a weaponisation of the rule of law to silence dissent.“This case is not about national security – it is about rewriting history and punishing those who refuse to forget the victims of the Tiananmen crackdown,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director, Asia.