Listen to this articleDear 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated using AI-based technology. Pronunciation errors may occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve results. A Hong Kong court on Friday sentenced three activists, who for years organized vigils in remembrance of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, to prison terms ranging from five to more than seven years, in a case widely seen as a barometer of the city’s freedoms as Beijing clamps down on dissent. Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung and Albert Ho were convicted of inciting subversion earlier this year under a national security law imposed by Beijing. Lee and Chow, who pleaded not guilty, received prison sentences of seven years and seven years plus three months. Ho received five years plus two months, less than the other defendants, in part because of his guilty plea. The trio of defendants were charged in September 2021 and have been in custody for years. Hong Kong once had a vibrant civil society marked by mass protests and a free press scene. For three decades, the vigil was the only large-scale public commemoration in China, drawing tens of thousands of people annually. It symbolized the civil liberties Hong Kong enjoyed under Beijing’s guiding principle of “one country, two systems” after Britain returned the former colony to China in 1997. But after a protest movement in 2019 rocked the city, authorities reduced public options in elections and prosecuted media leaders known for their critical reporting on the government. Many prominent activists were jailed under the security law and dozens of civil society groups were disbanded, including the alliance. Beijing says the law is necessary to maintain stability. The sentences for the Tiananmen activists are the latest high-profile sentences imposed under the security law. In February, former pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Chow, third from left, attends a candlelight vigil to mark the 30th anniversary of the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, in Hong Kong on June 4, 2019. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)
