"Three former leaders of a disbanded group that organized vigils marking Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on pro-democracy protests went on trial in Hong Kong on Thursday, half a decade after their 2021 detention. The annual memorial event was once legal in China-ruled Hong Kong, and celebrated as a symbol of the relative freedom there. But it was stamped out in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic using a new national security law imposed from Beijing."
"Police guarded the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court on Thursday amid considerable public and press interest in the case. The last vast Hong Kong vigil to the Tiananmen Square crackdown took place in 2020 despite city authorities' attempts to stop itImage: Vincent Yu/AP Photo/picture alliance Who is on trial and how did they plead? Lee Cheuk-yan, 68, Albert Ho, 74, and Chow Hang-tung, 40, are three former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China."
"Prosecutors focused on Thursday on laying out their case against Ho, who pleaded guilty and requested a reduced sentence. Ho pleaded guilty to a summary read by prosecutor Ned Lai that said "ending one-party rule" referred to putting an end to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. This would be in violation of the constitution as there was no legal means to end it, the proseuction said. Former trade union leader Lee and Chow, a barriste"
Three former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China faced trial over organizing vigils commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, following their 2021 detention. The annual memorial was once legal in Hong Kong but was halted after the COVID pandemic under a national security law from Beijing. Police guarded the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court amid intense public and media interest. Prosecutors concentrated on Albert Ho, who pleaded guilty and sought a reduced sentence; prosecutors said calls to "end one-party rule" meant ending Chinese Communist Party leadership and violated the constitution.
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