8 Hong Kong activists on trial over banned Tiananmen vigil

HONG KONG — A trial began Monday for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and seven other pro-democracy activists charged over their roles in an unauthorized Tiananmen vigil last year, amid a crackdown on political dissent in Hong Kong. Lai and the seven others, which includes Lee Cheuk-yan, the former chairman of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, face charges that include organizing, participating and inciting others to take part in the unauthorized candlelight vigil commemorating the bloody 1989 crackdown on protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. Lee and four other defendants pleaded guilty…