Hong Kong courts convicted veteran activist Lee Cheuk‑yan and lawyer‑activist Chow Hang‑tung of incitement to subversion, exposing them to a maximum ten‑year prison term. The verdict, delivered on 21 August 2026, reinforces the city’s tightening national‑security regime and signals further constraints on political expression.
Both men and women were leaders of the now‑defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organised annual candlelight vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown. Charged in 2021, they pleaded not guilty but were found guilty of “incitement to subversion” under the 2020 national‑security law. A third defendant, former Democratic Party chief Albert Ho, pleaded guilty earlier this year.
The convictions illustrate Beijing’s expanding use of the national‑security ordinance to suppress dissent, raising concerns among foreign investors and NGOs about Hong Kong’s rule‑of‑law environment. Rights groups have urged governments to hold China accountable, while the legal clamp‑down may further isolate the territory from international financial hubs.