Law & Justice
Hong Kong jails Tiananmen leaders for up to 7 years 3 months
Hong Kong sentenced three former Tiananmen vigil leaders on Friday to prison terms ranging from five years and two months to seven years and three months under the city's national security law, drawing condemnation from the United Nations, rights groups and foreign governments.
Chow Hang-tung, 41, received seven years and three months. Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, received seven years. Albert Ho, 74, a former lawmaker who pleaded guilty in January, received five years and two months. Lee and Chow pleaded not guilty. All three have been in custody since they were charged in 2021.
The activists led the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance, which organised annual vigils in Victoria Park for people killed when Chinese troops and tanks crushed protests in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. Public commemoration in Hong Kong has been effectively banned in recent years.
A court ruled in August that the activists had breached the Chinese constitution by calling for an “end to one-party dictatorship”. Friday's verdict said the offence was serious even though the case did not involve violence and the defendants had not proposed a specific timetable for that goal.
UN rights chief Volker Turk called for the sentences to be quashed, his office said. The European Union said the ruling undermined confidence in the rule of law and harmed Hong Kong's reputation. Taiwan, Human Rights Watch and other critics condemned the sentences.
Hong Kong leader John Lee defended the prosecution, saying the law would not allow anyone to use human rights, democracy and freedom as a pretext to harm the country and compatriots. National security police chief Steve Li called the sentences a warning to anyone considering similar acts.
Lee's wife, Elizabeth Tang Yin-ngor, said he would appeal. Judge Alex Lee said the fate of the Hong Kong Alliance's “Pillar of Shame” statue would be decided after its ownership was resolved. Danish artist Jens Galschiot, who made the statue and has sought to reclaim it, called the possible confiscation outrageous.
Update
The court described the offence as serious despite saying the case did not involve violence or a specific timetable for ending one-party rule.
Taiwan condemned the sentences.
Judge Alex Lee said the fate of the Pillar of Shame statue would be decided after its ownership was resolved.
Danish artist Jens Galschiot called the possible confiscation of the statue outrageous.
A legal expert told AFP the national security law was shaping what could remain part of official history.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 15:24:54 UTC.
Update
UN rights chief Volker Turk called for the sentences to be quashed and repeated a call for Hong Kong's National Security Law to be brought in line with China's international human rights obligations.
UN rights office spokesman Seif Magango called the jail terms and a heavy fine on an affiliated civil society organisation another regrettable outcome of what he described as a deeply flawed law.
The UN rights office said the jailing showed increasing restrictions on civic space in Hong Kong since the law was passed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 15:07:29 UTC.
Update
The UN said the sentences for the Hong Kong Tiananmen activists must be quashed.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 14:37:05 UTC.
Update
Hong Kong leader John Lee and national security police chief Steve Li commented on the sentences.
Taiwan officials, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the sentencing.
Judge Alex Lee said the fate of the Pillar of Shame statue would be decided after its ownership is determined.
Jens Galschiot, the Danish artist behind the Pillar of Shame, criticised the trial outcome and possible confiscation of the statue.
Lee Cheuk-yan's wife said he would appeal.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 13:06:48 UTC.
Update
EU foreign affairs spokesman Anouar El Anouni said the bloc deplores the sentencing of Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung.
The EU described the trial as politically motivated and conducted on national security grounds.
The EU spokesman said the ruling undermines confidence in the rule of law and harms Hong Kong's reputation.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 12:09:42 UTC.
Update
An EU spokesman said the European Union deplored the Hong Kong sentences for Tiananmen activists.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 11:55:25 UTC.
Update
National security police chief Steve Li described the sentences as a warning to people considering similar acts.
Taiwan's top China policy body condemned the case and said the pursuit of democracy and human rights is not a crime.
Lee Cheuk-yan's wife, Elizabeth Tang Yin-ngor, said he would appeal.
Chow Hang-tung's mother, Medina Chow Lau Wah-chun, said Chow had maintained high spirits during the trial.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 04:51:25 UTC.
Update
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the sentences.
The verdict said the offence was serious despite not involving violence or a specific timetable to carry out the slogan at issue.
Judge Alex Lee said the fate of the Pillar of Shame statue would be decided after a decision on its ownership.
Danish artist Jens Galschiot called the trial outcome and possible confiscation of the statue outrageous.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 03:39:31 UTC.
Update
Chow Hang-tung is a Cambridge-educated lawyer who represented herself at trial and has held a hunger strike every June since being jailed to mark the 1989 anniversary.
Lee Cheuk-yan has been involved in Hong Kong’s labour movement since the 1970s and was in Beijing during the June 1989 crackdown.
Albert Ho is a lawyer-turned-politician who led Hong Kong’s now-dissolved Democratic Party and helped found the Hong Kong Alliance.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 03:17:30 UTC.
Update
Prosecutors argued that evidence including the Pillar of Shame statue and Hong Kong Alliance museum archives should be confiscated.
Judge Alex Lee said the statue's fate would be decided after a decision on its ownership.
Danish artist Jens Galschiot, who created the Pillar of Shame, called the trial outcome and possible confiscation outrageous and said he has sought to reclaim the work.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 02:38:31 UTC.
Update
The sentence range is five years to seven years and three months.
The trial was condemned by the United Nations, rights groups and several foreign governments.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 02:25:44 UTC.
Update
Hong Kong sentenced the Tiananmen vigil activists to between five and seven years in jail.
Source note: AFP news report published on 11 September 2026 at 02:16:50 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The sentences are expected to include time already served, but the final sentence calculation was not specified.
The ownership and final fate of the Pillar of Shame statue remain unresolved.
The outcome of any appeal is not known.
Source
AFP news report published on .