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Hong Kong Sentences Three Alliance Leaders for Inciting Subversion

By Drooid · Sep 11, 2026, 9:43 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Alliance Leaders Sentenced

Hong Kong court sentenced three former Hong Kong Alliance leaders for inciting subversion.
Lee Cheuk-yan got seven years, Chow Hang-tung seven years three months, Albert Ho five years two months.
The Hong Kong Alliance was fined HK$1.5 million, payable within three months.
Judges said the activists used the phrase “end one-party dictatorship” in their activities.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council condemned the trials as political and said democracy is not a crime.

Summary

Amnesty Condemns Verdict

Amnesty International Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks called the sentencing a “triple tragedy” and named the activists prisoners of conscience.
Amnesty International said the activists committed no internationally recognized crime and should be released immediately.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes condemned the verdict as further erosion of Hong Kong’s freedom of expression.
Britain’s Foreign Office criticized using the national security law to convict the Tiananmen vigil organizers.

History

Historical Context

The United Kingdom transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China at midnight on 1 July 1997, ending 156 years of British rule established after the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration pledged “one country, two systems” for 50 years, a promise now challenged by Beijing’s 2020 national-security law and 2021 electoral overhaul, prompting criticism from Britain, the United States and human-rights groups.

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Alliance Leaders Sentenced

Hong Kong court sentenced three former Hong Kong Alliance leaders for inciting subversion.
Lee Cheuk-yan got seven years, Chow Hang-tung seven years three months, Albert Ho five years two months.
The Hong Kong Alliance was fined HK$1.5 million, payable within three months.
Judges said the activists used the phrase “end one-party dictatorship” in their activities.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council condemned the trials as political and said democracy is not a crime.

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