Hong Kong: Drop Charges Against Tiananmen Vigil Organizers, End Sham Trial
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National security charges infringe on freedom of assembly and association
(Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders—January 21, 2026) A democracy group and its leadership that organized Hong Kong’s now-banned vigil for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre are set to face trial on January 22. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and its former chair Lee Cheuk-yan and vice-chairs Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho have been charged with “inciting subversion of state power” under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL). Lee, Chow and Ho face up to ten years in prison if convicted. The case will be heard at the Court of First Instance and the trial is expected to last 75 days.
The following quote can be attributed to Angeli Datt, research and advocacy coordinator at the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD):
“Organizing a candlelight vigil to call for justice for victims of a massacre and democracy in China is not a threat to national security—it is a form of expression and assembly guaranteed by international human rights law. This trial is sham, designed to make repression appear legitimate. If Hong Kong authorities actually follow the law, their only recourse is to drop all charges and immediately release the three organizers.”
Between 1990 and 2020, the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China organized an annual vigil in support of victims of the suppression of the 1989 prodemocracy movement, called for the end of one-party rule, and for democracy in China. Following the 2019 prodemocracy protests in Hong Kong, authorities banned the vigil in 2020-2021 on public health grounds due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and then afterwards on national security grounds. In September 2021, Hong Kong authorities charged the Alliance and its leadership and soon after the group’s remaining members voted to disband.
The United Nations called on Hong Kong to repeal the NSL in 2022, and again in 2025, determining it to be incompatible with the territory’s international human rights obligations. In 2023, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined that Chow Hang-tung’s detention to be arbitrary.
For more CHRD work, please see:
Submission to United Nations on Chow Hang-Tung
Portrait of a Defender – Chow Hang-tung (鄒幸彤)
Joint NGO letter to demand immediate and unconditional release of Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan
On the 36th Anniversary of Tiananmen, Release Activists Wrongfully Detained
For more information, please contact:
Sophie Richardson, Co-Executive Director, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, sophierichardson[at]nchrd.org, +1 917 721 7473
Angeli Datt, Research and Advocacy Coordinator, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, angelidatt[at]nchrd.org, +1 934 444 6155
Shane Yi, Researcher, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, shaneyi[at]nchrd.org