Hong Kong prosecutors say case against anti-China activists not a political trial

Hong Kong prosecutors have argued that the national security trial of a now-disbanded alliance behind the Tiananmen Square vigil is neither politically motivated nor intended to punish dissidents, stressing that they will not ask the court to determine the merits of any campaign or criticism against Beijing.In his opening speech on Monday at West Kowloon Court, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Ned Lai Ka-yee said the high-profile case against 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 did not involve adjudication of sensitive political topics, including Beijing’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 1989.According to Lai, the case would instead centre on the defendants’ “persistent” acts to oppose the country’s constitutional order, thereby threatening national security.“Even though the evidence shows the defendants’ incitement was committed in the name of so-called democracy or the June Fourth incident – combining negative information targeting the state – the present case is not a political trial and does not require any findings on democracy, the incident or criticism towards the state,” he said.Prosecutors were setting out their arguments against the alliance and its key figures, former chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, 68, and vice-chairwoman Chow Hang-tung, who turned 41 on Saturday.The defendants face a count of inciting subversion for promoting an end to “one-party dictatorship”, one of the alliance’s five operational objectives. The offence carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years under the Beijing-decreed national security law.