The recent sentencing of three prominent Hong Kong democracy activists has drawn international attention and highlighted Beijing’s intensified crackdown on dissent in the city. Chow Hang-tung was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison, Lee Cheuk-yan received seven years, and Albert Ho was given five years and two months after pleading guilty earlier this year. The verdicts, handed down on August 21, came after the leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance, which organized annual vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, were found guilty of inciting subversion.
The convictions center on the use of a long-standing slogan, “End one-party dictatorship,” displayed during Victoria Park’s candlelight vigils, a symbol of calls for political reform and remembrance of the Tiananmen massacre. The Hong Kong judiciary ruled that this phrase constitutes a call to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a charge carrying a maximum penalty of ten years. This interpretation contrasts with historical examples such as Taiwan’s transition to democracy in the late 1980s, where ending one-party rule did not involve violent overthrow but gradual political reform.
The Hong Kong government, led by Chief Executive John Lee, swiftly supported the court’s decision. Lee accused the alliance of fostering “seeds of hatred” and promoting resentment toward the CCP. However, the alliance’s call for constitutional change has been framed by some observers as an expression of hope for the CCP’s potential reform rather than outright rebellion.
The judgments mark a continuation of Beijing’s efforts to suppress dissent following the imposition of the national security law in 2020, which has curtailed freedoms once enjoyed in the city. The alliance-led candlelight vigils commemorated Tiananmen for over three decades, serving as one of the few public spaces to openly remember the 1989 crackdown—a brutal military action that resulted in the deaths of unarmed civilians in Beijing’s central square.
In addition to the alliance leaders’ sentences, other prominent democracy figures face severe penalties. Joshua Wong, a recognized youth activist who emerged as a leading figure during the 2012 protests against Beijing’s attempted nationality education reforms, recently pleaded guilty in a separate national security case. Media tycoon and activist Jimmy Lai is serving a 20-year sentence. Together, these cases represent a systematic effort to diminish three generations of democracy advocates in Hong Kong.
The closure of the June 4 Museum in 2021, previously run by the alliance and a major site preserving material evidence of the 1989 crackdown, further limits public memory of the event. Meanwhile, attempts to enforce official narratives through education and media in both Hong Kong and mainland China have sought to reshape perceptions of these sensitive historical moments.
One academic and former Hong Kong University professor, now teaching in exile at Stanford University, noted that the repression of dissent is rooted in a longstanding denial of the events of June 4, 1989, and the broader struggle for political reform in China. Despite the legal and political pressures, the legacy of those demanding democracy and human rights in Hong Kong continues to resonate among activists and citizens alike.