{
  "id": 3017887,
  "title": "Beijing slams West for criticising Hong Kong court verdict in Tiananmen vigil case",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/beijing-slams-west-for-criticising-hong-kong-court-verdict-in",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-24T12:30:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3365089/beijing-slams-west-criticising-hong-kong-court-verdict-tiananmen-vigil-case"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "China has vehemently protested Western criticism of a recent Hong Kong court verdict involving the disbanding of the alliance responsible for organizing Tiananmen Square vigils. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Lin Jian, addressed the issue in a regular press briefing, expressing strong disagreement with foreign nations and organizations for using this case to malign Hong Kong and discredit its rule of law. He specifically targeted concerns raised by the US and several other countries over the Hong Kong court ruling, which convicted three former alliance leaders for allegedly attempting to undermine China's fundamental system under the national security law. The ruling has been widely condemned by global powers, including the US, European Union, UK, France, Germany, and Australia, who view it as an erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong. Lin Jian dismissed these criticisms as interference in China's internal affairs, stating that the alliance's manifesto aimed to subvert state power and that the defendants' guilt was evident. He emphasized that Hong Kong is governed by the rule of law and that the central government is committed to safeguarding national security and combating any acts that jeopardize it. The Hong Kong government also distanced itself from the Western criticisms, asserting that the defendants received a fair trial and were not targeted for their political beliefs. The case stems from the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which has organized annual candlelight vigils in Victoria Park since 1989 to commemorate the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and advocate for democratic reforms. The 216-page court judgment found that the alliance, its former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, and former vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung had incited public hatred towards the Communist Party by drawing parallels between the 1989 crackdown and the 2019 protests.",
  "summary": "Beijing has slammed Western nations for interfering in China’s internal affairs over their criticism of the conviction of the now-disbanded alliance that organised Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen Square vigils and its former leaders for inciting subversion. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian used a regular press briefing on Monday to hit out at “certain countries and organisations” for…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
        "title": "John Lee urges start-ups to seize opportunities through ‘golden gateway’ of Hong Kong",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/john-lee-urges-start-ups-to-seize-opportunities-through-golden",
        "published": "2026-08-24T05:08:38.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}