Hong Kong vigil organizers face sentencing hearing

Hong Kong prosecutors and defense teams are in court over sentencing for former organizers of the city’s annual Tiananmen Vigil after they were convicted of inciting subversion under the national security law. The defendants—Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung, and Albert Ho—along with the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, face up to 10 years in prison, with Ho having pleaded guilty and others contesting the verdicts. Defense lawyers argued that the group’s goal of ending one-party rule was an empty slogan and that they never produced concrete plans to overthrow the government. The case has drawn international concern, with Western governments and UN officials urging restraint and the Hong Kong government defending the court’s application of the law. Beijing’s Foreign Ministry criticized Western criticism as interference in China’s internal affairs, while reiterating that Hong Kong is governed by its national security framework. The proceedings illustrate ongoing tensions between pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong and Beijing’s security posture, as the sentencing hearings proceed and the broader debate over freedoms in Hong Kong continues.