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

Hong Kong authorities have hit out at what they called the “baseless slander and smearing” by Western countries over the conviction of the now-disbanded alliance behind the annual Tiananmen Square vigil and its leaders for inciting subversion, stressing the court’s “well-reasoned and sound” verdict.The government issued a strongly worded statement on Saturday after the closely watched verdict on the China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="16309" data-entity-type="organization">Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China a day earlier sparked a chorus of criticism from several Western countries and the United Nations over suppression of freedom.A panel of three High Court judges ruled that any attempt to overthrow or undermine the China" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="7909" data-entity-type="organization">Communist Party of China’s leadership could constitute a subversion offence because the country’s constitution did not permit Western-style democracy.