Former chair Lee Cheuk Yan and former vice-chair Chow Hang Tung of the dissolved Hong Kong Alliance found guilty of 'incitement to subversion' by the Hong Kong High Court
The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China held June Fourth commemorative events and candlelight vigils in Victoria Park every year without interruption for 30 years, from 1990 to 2019, before disbanding in September 2021. Its former chair, Lee Cheuk Yan, and former vice-chair, Chow Hang Tung, were found guilty of 'incitement to subversion' by the Hong Kong High Court. Co-defendant Albert Ho (Ho Chun Yan) had already pleaded guilty on 22 January. The Court of First Instance judges stated that there was 'nothing inherently improper' about holding June Fourth vigils. However, 'leadership of the Communist Party of China' is an element of the fundamental system prescribed by China's Constitution, and the objective of 'ending one-party dictatorship' meant ending the Communist Party's leadership. It was therefore unconstitutional and also constituted 'unlawful means' for the purposes of Hong Kong's offence of subversion. The day before the verdict, Chow Hang Tung wrote: 'Justice lies in people's hearts; there is no need to look up to such a top-down judgment.'