Al Jazeera – Breaking News, World News and Video from Al Jazeera
· collected 2026-08-21 · by Al Jazeera Staff
Hong Kong Tiananmen activists Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung have been found guilty on national security charges for organizing candlelit vigils to mark Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, with prosecutors arguing they "endangered national security in the name of human rights". The two activists could face up to 10 years in jail, pending sentencing. This verdict is part of a broader erosion of freedom of expression in Hong Kong, as seen in the trial of Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 20 years behind bars earlier this year.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, two Hong Kong activists, have been found guilty of inciting subversion under the city's national security law. They were charged with organizing annual vigils to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, which was banned by authorities in 2020. The pair face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and sentencing is expected at a later date. They were leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, which had organized the city's annual vigil marking the Tiananmen Square crackdown. The verdict has been met with criticism from countries such as France and Germany, who said that "peaceful advocacy for human rights does not constitute a crime."
Written for “Hong Kong Tiananmen Convictions” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article's own words the score was based on. Each is quoted
verbatim and was checked against the article text before being
stored, so you can find it in the original.
Leaning score -0.35 for article 1892 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-08-28
A Hong Kong court has found two pro-democracy activists guilty on national security charges in a trial widely viewed as exemplifying the erosion of freedom of expression in the Chinese city.
asserted
activists → find → city
Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, and Chow Hang-tung, 41, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were found guilty of “incitement to subversion” for their role in organising candlelit vigils to mark Beijing’s deadly 1989 Tiananmen crackdown, in a Hong Kong court on Friday.
asserted
yan → find → Friday
The two had pleaded not guilty and were charged in 2021.
asserted
two → plead → 2021
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The pair could face up to 10 years in jail.
uncertain
pair → reject → jail
Sentencing is expected at a later date.
asserted
Sentencing → expect → date
Prosecutors argued that the pair “endanger[ed] national security in the name of human rights”.
asserted
pair → argue → rights
Chow, a human rights barrister who represented herself, told the court in May that the law itself was on trial.
uncertain
law → represent → trial
Friday’s verdict was “no surprise”, said Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.
asserted
Clifford → say → Foundation
Hong Kong’s “twisted” judicial system had already decided the pair were guilty in 2021, he said.
asserted
he → decide → 2021
He described Lee and Chow as “true Chinese patriots” who were silenced because they “spoke truth to power” and “held up a mirror to the Chinese Communist Party”.
asserted
they → describe → Party
For three decades, the candlelight vigil organised by the alliance was the only large-scale public commemoration of the Tiananmen crackdown, drawing tens of thousands of people annually to mourn the victims in China.
asserted
vigil → organise → China
The event was banned in 2020 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, weeks before Beijing imposed the security law on Hong Kong to quell the 2019 massive antigovernment protests.
asserted
Beijing → ban → protests
The alliance’s leaders have been behind bars since they were charged.
asserted
they → charge → bars
Chow and Lee “exposed the Chinese government’s fears of the memory of its own atrocities”, Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said, urging governments around the world to hold Beijing to account for erasing Hong Kong’s freedoms.
asserted
Pearson → expose → freedoms
Earlier this year, Jimmy Lai, 78, a media mogul and high-profile rights campaigner in Hong Kong, was found guilty on national security charges and sentenced to 20 years behind bars.
Led ‘like a dog on a lead’
In a personal blog published in the days leading up to the verdict, Chow detailed her treatment by correctional services, in which she described being led “like a dog on a lead”, shackled at the wrists, waist and ankles.
asserted
she → find → wrists
She described a new method of restraint, with specialised handcuffs, as the source of significant pain during her long detention: “One can only ‘choose’ which part of the body shall suffer in turn” due to the bodily contortions forced by the restraints she has been held in.
asserted
she → describe → restraints
Chow is one of the few high-profile political prisoners detained in Hong Kong to continue to speak out publicly against the authorities.
asserted
Chow → detain → authorities
In June 1989, China’s government sent tanks and soldiers to crush a pro-democracy movement that had installed itself in Beijing’s central Tiananmen Square.
asserted
that → send → Square
Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were killed by soldiers, and many were injured.
uncertain
many → kill → soldiers
Beijing has since sought to censor mention of the incident in China.
asserted
Beijing → seek → China
