Hong Kong hits back at Western ‘slander’ over verdict on Tiananmen vigil leaders

Hong Kong's government has strongly criticized Western countries and the United Nations for accusing the city of "baseless slander and smearing" in the wake of the conviction of a group behind annual Tiananmen Square vigils. The High Court ruled that any attempt to overthrow or undermine China's Communist Party leadership could be considered a subversion offense, as the country's constitution does not permit Western-style democracy.

Three judges found the Hong Kong Alliance, its former chairman and vice-chairwoman to have incited public hatred towards the party by comparing Beijing's crackdown on protesters in 1989 to local authorities' suppression of the 2019 anti-government demonstrations. The fourth defendant had earlier pleaded guilty. A government spokesperson defended the court's verdict, emphasizing that the defendants were not punished for their political views but for violating the law and attempting to undermine the Communist Party's fundamental system.

The spokesperson also noted that the defendants continued to support the alliance's "resistance line" after the imposition of the national security law in 2020 and intended to cause others to lose confidence in the ruling party by stirring up hostility and causing division. The verdict has drawn widespread criticism from Western governments, including the UK, EU, France, Germany, Australia and the US, who called it an attempt to suppress freedom.