NEWS & EDITORIAL | August 31, 2026
Hong Kong’s High Court convicted Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan on August 21 of “inciting subversion of state power” under the National Security Law over their roles in the Hong Kong Alliance and annual June Fourth commemorations. Albert Ho had previously pleaded guilty to the same charge. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch both criticized the convictions and called for the cases to be reversed.
Sources
Amnesty International, August 21, 2026
Human Rights Watch, August 21, 2026
Why It Matters
The case tests whether peaceful commemoration of June Fourth can be treated as a national-security offense in Hong Kong and has implications for freedom of expression, assembly, historical memory, and rule of law.
Free China Editorial / Analysis
Remembering those killed in 1989 is not the same as advocating violence or overthrow. Criminalizing peaceful remembrance narrows the space for lawful historical debate and makes the independence and proportionality of national-security adjudication an international concern.
Free China 
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