Verdict awaited for former Tiananmen vigil leaders in Hong Kong security case

The Hong Kong court is expected to deliver a verdict on Friday for Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, who organized the city's annual Tiananmen Square remembrance until it was prohibited in 2020. Charged in September 2021 with inciting subversion under the Beijing-imposed national security law, they could each receive up to ten years in prison if convicted by the three judges appointed by the government. The alliance they led was the only group in China to hold a large public commemoration of the 1989 crackdown, drawing tens of thousands before the pandemic-related ban.

Their co-defendant Albert Ho entered a guilty plea earlier, a move that typically leads to a reduced term. Legal analysts and rights advocates say the trial serves as a bellwether for the city’s civil liberties and the independence of its courts within the "one country, two systems" arrangement.