Overview
- Three former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance — Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, who were convicted, and Albert Ho, who pleaded guilty — returned to West Kowloon Court for mitigation hearings after charges of inciting subversion.
- Defense lawyers told judges the alliance’s call to “end one‑party dictatorship” was a theoretical slogan without plans for violence and said decades of peaceful vigils never produced acts to overthrow the Communist Party.
- A three‑judge panel rejected that account and found the slogan signaled an intent to undermine the Communist Party, a ruling the court used to sustain the subversion convictions.
- The judges set sentencing to occur within roughly two weeks and the defendants face prison terms that can reach up to 10 years under the national security law.
- Rights groups and foreign governments expressed concern about the verdict’s effect on free expression, and the court may also rule on symbolic matters such as the fate of the Pillar of Shame memorial.