Hong Kong court hears final arguments in the trial of Tiananmen vigil organizers

A Hong Kong court was hearing the final arguments Monday in the national security trial for two organizers of the large vigils remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court was hearing the final arguments Monday in the national security trial for two organizers of the large vigils remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

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Hong Kong for decades was the only place in China where a large-scale public commemoration of the crackdown was held. The vigils were banned in 2020, and the two former organizers were charged in 2021 with inciting subversion under a Beijing-imposed national security law that has virtually stifled the city’s pro-democracy movement.

Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, two former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, have pleaded not guilty. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in prison.