On 22 January 2026, the Hong Kong national-security trial of three organisers of the city’s Tiananmen vigils opened. Before sunrise, dozens queued outside the court for seats in the public gallery under a cold-weather warning. Former alliance member Tang Ngok-kwan had been waiting since Monday afternoon, according to the report.
Inside, the court considered charges of inciting subversion. Outside, the line showed that first-hand access to a public hearing was finite. After the annual vigil had been banned and its organising alliance dissolved, one remaining way to demonstrate attention and support was to hold a place in the order leading to the gallery.