Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
(28 Aug 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Hong Kong - 4 June 2020
1. Wide of members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic and Democratic Movements of China ("Hong Kong Alliance") standing on edge of traditional Tiananmen candlelight vigil location in Victoria Park, with Lee Cheuk-yan (centre) and Albert Ho on his right, and Chow Hang-tung on his left
2. Pan of Hong Kong Alliance members including Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Chow Hang-tung, holding up candles
3. Various of Lee Cheuk-yan, flanked by Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung, walking into Victoria Park holding candles, for event which was not authorised by authorities
4. Pan of Hong Kong Alliance members sitting on ground inside Victoria Park, including Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung, holding candles
5. Various of Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, and Chow Hang-tung holding candles at Victoria Park with other Hong Kong Alliance members ++NIGHT SHOTS++
6. Crowd holding phones with lights on inside park ++NIGHT SHOT++
7. Various of people in park ++NIGHT SHOTS++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Hong Kong - 4 June 2019
++NIGHT SHOTS++
8. Close of candle at last Tiananmen candlelight vigil to have been authorised by authorities
9. People in crowd holding candles
10. Hong Kong Alliance members on stage
11. People in crowd holding candles
12. Zoom out of crowd at vigil
STORYLINE:
Three former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigils in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown returned to court Friday to argue over their sentences after being convicted of inciting subversion under a national security law imposed by China.
Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged in 2021 under the law that has effectively stifled the city’s previously thriving pro-democracy movement.
Lee and Chow, who pleaded not guilty, were convicted August 21. Ho earlier entered a guilty plea, which often can result in a reduced sentence.
They face a maximum prison term of 10 years and are expected to be sentenced at a later date. Alex Lee, one of the judges, said they would be sentenced within two weeks.
The disbanded alliance also was found guilty on the same charge. It was best known for organizing the only large-scale public commemoration in China that drew tens of thousands of people annually for three decades to remember the 1989 crackdown’s victims.
The verdict has drawn concerns from foreign governments. Critics say the case illustrates a decline in freedoms Beijing promised to maintain when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. But the Hong Kong government insisted the court only considered the laws and evidence and that many rights and freedoms are not absolute.
Three government-approved judges ruled the trio of former vigil organizers had intentionally encouraged supporters of the alliance to wait for the right time to carry out “end one-party dictatorship,” one of the group’s core demands, through unlawful means.
The judges said the call carried the notion of overthrowing or undermining the ruling Communist Party’s leadership status, adding that the defendants have long held enmity against the party and they did not genuinely believe their words and deeds would not violate the security law.
Chow, a barrister who represented herself, insisted she did not do anything wrong and did not deserve even one day in prison. She argued the verdict was saying that pursuing democracy is a crime.
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(28 Aug 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Hong Kong - 4 June 2020
1. Wide of members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic and Democratic Movements of China ("Hong Kong Alliance") standing on edge of traditional Tiananmen candlelight vigil location in Victoria Park, with Lee Cheuk-yan (centre) and Albert Ho on his right, and Chow Hang-tung on his left
2. Pan of Hong Kong Alliance members including Albert Ho, Lee Cheuk-yan, and Chow Hang-tung, holding up candles
3. Various of Lee Cheuk-yan, flanked by Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung, walking into Victoria Park holding candles, for event which was not authorised by authorities
4. Pan of Hong Kong Alliance members sitting on ground inside Victoria Park, including Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho and Chow Hang-tung, holding candles
5. Various of Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, and Chow Hang-tung holding candles at Victoria Park with other Hong Kong Alliance members ++NIGHT SHOTS++
6. Crowd holding phones with lights on inside park ++NIGHT SHOT++
7. Various of people in park ++NIGHT SHOTS++
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ARCHIVE: Hong Kong - 4 June 2019
++NIGHT SHOTS++
8. Close of candle at last Tiananmen candlelight vigil to have been authorised by authorities
9. People in crowd holding candles
10. Hong Kong Alliance members on stage
11. People in crowd holding candles
12. Zoom out of crowd at vigil
STORYLINE:
Three former organizers of Hong Kong’s annual vigils in remembrance of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown returned to court Friday to argue over their sentences after being convicted of inciting subversion under a national security law imposed by China.
Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged in 2021 under the law that has effectively stifled the city’s previously thriving pro-democracy movement.
Lee and Chow, who pleaded not guilty, were convicted August 21. Ho earlier entered a guilty plea, which often can result in a reduced sentence.
They face a maximum prison term of 10 years and are expected to be sentenced at a later date. Alex Lee, one of the judges, said they would be sentenced within two weeks.
The disbanded alliance also was found guilty on the same charge. It was best known for organizing the only large-scale public commemoration in China that drew tens of thousands of people annually for three decades to remember the 1989 crackdown’s victims.
The verdict has drawn concerns from foreign governments. Critics say the case illustrates a decline in freedoms Beijing promised to maintain when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. But the Hong Kong government insisted the court only considered the laws and evidence and that many rights and freedoms are not absolute.
Three government-approved judges ruled the trio of former vigil organizers had intentionally encouraged supporters of the alliance to wait for the right time to carry out “end one-party dictatorship,” one of the group’s core demands, through unlawful means.
The judges said the call carried the notion of overthrowing or undermining the ruling Communist Party’s leadership status, adding that the defendants have long held enmity against the party and they did not genuinely believe their words and deeds would not violate the security law.
Chow, a barrister who represented herself, insisted she did not do anything wrong and did not deserve even one day in prison. She argued the verdict was saying that pursuing democracy is a crime.
Find out more about AP Archive: aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: twitter.com/AP_Archive
Facebook: facebook.com/APArchives
Instagram: instagram.com/APNews
You can license this story through AP Archive: aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/fee96fd4861843e484b2e769bf8a5827
