A Hong Kong court has concluded final arguments in a national security trial for two former organizers of vigils remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
symbolized the decline in freedoms that Beijing had promised when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The Hong Kong and Beijing governments said that the security law is crucial for the city's stability.
In previous hearings, the prosecution has focused on “ending one-party rule,” one of the alliance’s core demands, arguing that the group’s advocacy was about inciting others to use unlawful means to overthrow the leadership of China’s ruling Communist Party. Chow, a barrister who defended herself, said Tuesday that her trial was a “very strange case,” because the defendants neither denied anything they had done nor argued that what they said didn't reflect their thoughts.
Chow said that “ending one-party rule” means ending a state where power is unrestricted, and that a key question in the case is whether the law is really safeguarding the Chinese Communist Party to rule forever and banning the people from pushing forward democratization. Chow argued that the standard for determining right and wrong has been turned upside down in this case.
“Speaking the truth has become inciting hatred, seeking justice has become exploiting suffering, limiting power has become violating the constitution, and returning power to the people has become subverting the state,” she said. She said that if the court fails to gatekeep over the reasonable effects of their statements, it could easily become an accomplice by tolerating the crimes committed by those in power.
The prosecution said Monday that freedoms of speech, assembly and association aren't absolute rights, accusing the defendants of attempting to blur the focus with human rights arguments. After hearing arguments from both sides, Lee said Tuesday that the judges can't specify a verdict date, but hoped to have a decision between mid- and late July. The trial, which was initially scheduled to last 75 days, moved faster than expected. Tuesday was the 24th day of the trial.
, also a defendant in the case, entered a guilty plea when the trial began in January. Pleading guilty typically could result in a sentence reduction. Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigils mourned the victims who died in a crackdown on student-led protests in 1989, during which tanks rolled into the heart of Beijing and soldiers fired live rounds. Hundreds and possibly thousands of people were killed, including dozens of soldiers.
But after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, the former vigil site was occupied instead by a carnival organized by pro-Beijing groups. Some people who tried to commemorate the event near the site on June 4, the crackdown’s anniversary,Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Hong Kong court hears final arguments in former Tiananmen vigil organizers' national security trialA Hong Kong court is hearing the final arguments in a national security trial for two people who organized large vigils remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
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Hong Kong court hears final arguments in former Tiananmen vigil organizers' national security trialA Hong Kong court is hearing the final arguments in a national security trial for two people who organized large vigils remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Read more »
Hong Kong court hears final arguments in trial of Tiananmen vigil organizers, hopes for July verdictA Hong Kong court has concluded final arguments in a national security trial for two former organizers of vigils remembering the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.
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