Hong Kong Kicks Off National Security Trial for Tiananmen Vigil Organizers

Updated by Faith Barbara N Ruhinda at 0954 EAT on Thursday 22 January 2026

The trial of three prominent activists who organized Tiananmen Square massacre vigils has officially begun in Hong Kong. Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho, and Lee Cheuk-yan, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, are facing charges of “inciting subversion of state power” in the High Court.

As the trial began on Thursday, Lee Cheuk-yan waved at his supporters in the courtroom, who enthusiastically returned the gesture and greeted him with a cheerful “good morning.” Albert Ho sat quietly, while Chow Hang-tung expressed her gratitude to the supporters who had braved the cold overnight, bowing in appreciation.

Shortly thereafter, Lee and Chow pleaded not guilty to the charges, while Ho admitted guilt.

Around 70 people lined up in the chilly morning to secure a spot in the public gallery, while a heavy police presence was deployed around the court.

Hong Kong once hosted annual candlelight vigils to commemorate the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, but such events have been banned since 2020. That year, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the city in response to large, at times violent, pro-democracy protests.

Rights groups and several foreign governments have condemned the cases against prominent pro-democracy figures under Hong Kong’s national security law, describing them as a deliberate misuse of the legal system to stifle 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 massacre,” said Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for Asia.

Angeli Datt, research and advocacy coordinator at the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, condemned the trial as a “sham.”

“If Hong Kong authorities were genuinely upholding the law, their only option would be to drop all charges and immediately release the three organizers,” Datt said in a statement.

Beijing has maintained that the national security law was necessary to restore stability to Hong Kong following the 2019 protests, which saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets.

Three government-approved judges will preside over the trial, which is expected to last 75 days. Videos documenting the Hong Kong Alliance’s years of activism will be used as evidence by the prosecution.
The three-judge panel recently rejected an application from Chow Hang-tung to have the case dismissed.

“The court will not allow this trial to become, as [Chow] contends, a tool for political suppression,” the judges stated in a preliminary ruling.

The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was founded in May 1989 to support pro-democracy and anti-corruption protests in Beijing.

The following month, China’s government sent tanks and troops to forcibly suppress the movement around Tiananmen Square, a violent crackdown the government has since heavily censored within the country.

Over the next three decades, the Alliance called on Beijing to take responsibility for the massacre, release political prisoners, and pursue democratic reform. Its annual candlelight vigils in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on June 4 attracted thousands of attendees, serving as a powerful symbol of defiance and remembrance.

The trial of Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Albert Ho follows last month’s controversial conviction of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, which sparked widespread international condemnation. Lai was found guilty of conspiring to commit foreign collusion.

In response to the backlash over Lai’s conviction, Hong Kong’s chief justice stated on Monday that judges “deal only with the law and the evidence, not with any underlying matters of politics.”

Source: Al Jazeera

Invest or Donate towards HICGI New Agency Global Media Establishment – Watch video here