Hong Kong democracy activists at court for illegal assembly

More than two dozen pro-democracy activists appeared at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in Hong Kong on Thursday as hearings resumed for cases of participating in unlawful assembly.

They are accused of offences related to this year's annual candlelight vigil in memory of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing.

The defendants include some of the best-known democracy advocates in Hong Kong, including businessman Jimmy Lai and activist Joshua Wong.

The annual candlelight vigil has been a local institution for decades, but this year was the first time police did not give formal permission for it to proceed, citing COVID-19 concerns.

The activists went ahead with the vigil anyway, and police did not prevent thousands of people from attending it. The event passed peacefully.

"The Hong Kong Alliance will be persistent in our right to mourn June 4th and we will continue even under the National Security Law next year to light a candle inside Victoria Park to condemn the massacre and mourn June 4th," said activist Lee Cheuk Yan.

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