What to know about the trial of former Tiananmen vigil organizers before a verdict

HONG KONG -- A verdict is expected Friday in the case of two organizers of an annual Hong Kong vigil to remember the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown who are being tried under a China-imposed national security law that has stifled Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, former leaders of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were charged in September 2021 with inciting subversion and face a maximum jail term of 10 years if convicted. The activists pleaded not guilty when their trial opened in January and are expected to appear in court Friday. If convicted by three government-approved judges, they likely will be sentenced at a later date.For three decades, the now-disbanded alliance organized the only large-scale, public commemoration in China that attracted tens of thousands annually until the event was banned in 2020 following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.Observers say the activists' prosecution and the disappearance of the vigil symbolized the loss of freedoms that Beijing promised to maintain for 50 years when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. The government said its law e...