No ‘red line’ for approving assemblies but security threats remain: police chief

A Hong Kong court has sentenced three activists to lengthy prison terms under the national security law for their roles in organizing a Tiananmen Square massacre vigil. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung received seven-year sentences for inciting subversion, while Albert Ho was sentenced to five years and two months after pleading guilty. The convictions stem from their involvement with the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance, which organized annual commemorations and called for an end to one-party dictatorship, an act deemed a serious offense by the court. The United Nations, rights groups, and foreign governments have condemned these convictions under the national security law imposed in 2020. The Hong Kong Alliance itself faces a fine of 1.5 million Hong Kong dollars.

Three Hong Kong activists have been sentenced to prison for organizing vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. Lee Cheuk-yan received seven years, Chow Hang-tung received seven years and three months, and Albert Ho received five years. Lee and Chow were convicted of inciting subversion under the national security law, while Ho pleaded guilty. These gatherings, once a rare public commemoration in Chinese territory, were banned in Hong Kong in 2020. The national security law, implemented that same year, has been criticized for eroding autonomy and fostering fear, though authorities state it is for stability.

Three former leaders of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China have been sentenced to up to seven years and three months in jail under the national security law. The sentences were for inciting subversion by calling for an end to "one-party dictatorship" in mainland China. The Hong Kong Alliance itself was fined HK$1.5 million. The convictions stemmed from judges finding that the alliance and its leaders had incited public hatred towards the Chinese Communist Party by comparing Beijing's 1989 crackdown to Hong Kong's 2019 anti-government protests. This high-profile trial concluded at West Kowloon Court.