Two activists who led events commemorating the victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Hong Kong have been found guilty of inciting subversion.

According to AFP, local courts delivered the verdict against Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, former leading members of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, on the 21st (local time).

The court ruled that the two individuals incited others to organize, plan, execute, or participate in acts aimed at subverting state power through illegal means.

The two face up to 10 years in prison, with their specific sentences to be determined at a later date.

They have remained in custody since being indicted on subversion-related charges in 2021.

AFP reported that the two showed little reaction while sitting in the defendants' dock as the court handed down the guilty verdict.

The alliance they worked with was established to support the Tiananmen democracy movement and had held large-scale candlelight vigils commemorating the victims every year on the evening of June 4 at Hong Kong's Victoria Park from 1990 for 30 years.

Hong Kong and Macau were previously places in China where public commemorations of the Tiananmen incident were permitted.

However, following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, China implemented the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, effectively banning public events.

Albert Ho, a former Hong Kong Legislative Council member indicted alongside Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan, pleaded guilty in January.

Pleading guilty generally results in a reduced sentence.

Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), issued a statement regarding the ruling, arguing that it demonstrates "how public commemoration has been criminalized in Hong Kong."

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)