The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Saturday strongly condemned malicious attacks and slanders by Western countries, anti-China media, overseas organizations and politicians against the HKSAR government and its judiciary after the city’s High Court jailed three former leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China for subversion.

Urging all sides to recognize the objective facts, the SAR government demanded they stop making “baseless, malicious attacks and despicable political maneuvers”.

The Court of First Instance on Friday sentenced the three former alliance leaders – Albert Ho Chun-yan, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung – to prison terms ranging from five years and two months to seven years and three months, and fined the group HK$1.5 million ($191,292) for inciting subversion.

Former alliance chairman Lee, was imprisoned for seven years; former vice-chairperson Chow, 41, received seven years and three months; and former vice-chairman Ho, 74, was jailed for five years and two months. Lee and Chow had pleaded not to the charge of incitement to subversion, but were convicted by the High Court after a trial, while Ho had pleaded guilty in January this year.

Pointing out that people with ulterior motives have used the case to attack “one country, two systems”, a HKSAR government spokesman stressed that national security is the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, and safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests is the highest principle of “one country, two systems”.

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“Regardless of the nature of the case, the court had arrived at the verdict and sentences in strict accordance with the laws and evidence, fairly and impartially, free from any interference, and absolutely without any political considerations. Any suggestion that certain individuals or organizations should be immune from the legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a special privilege to break the law, and this totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law,” the spokesman said.

As the court had clearly stated the reasons for its verdict, the Constitution and the Basic Law had jointly established the HKSAR’s constitutional order and, under the Constitution, overthrowing or undermining the leadership status of the Communist Party of China is tantamount to overthrowing or undermining the “fundamental system” of the People’s Republic of China.

“The verdict of conviction and sentence of this case fully reflect the criminal responsibilities of the defendants and serve a strong deterrent effect,” the spokesman said, adding that the court's reasons for the length of sentence for individual defendants have clearly set out the considerations for sentencing, including reasons for determining that the present case falls within the category of an “offense of a serious nature”.

The court had pointed out that the defendants had all along been hostile towards the CPC and the central government under its leadership and adhered to the course of resisting the central government and refusing to make any compromise. After the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, the defendants had still refused to pull back from the brink and were bent on embracing the resistance line of the alliance to the very end, the spokesman said.

The court also reiterated that the SAR’s National Security Law had no retrospective effect, and that the defendants were put on trial not because of their political ideology or their conduct before the National Security Law. Rather, they were convicted solely on the basis they had committed acts prohibited under that law after it had come into effect, the spokesman said.

“This case and recent court rulings on various cases in connection with offenses endangering national security serve as solid evidence that the SAR’s National Security Law and other relevant laws for safeguarding national security are indeed capable of preventing, suppressing and punishing all offenses that endanger   national security,” the spokesman said.

It’s believed that without such strong legal barrier to bring criminals to justice, Hong Kong and the country will suffer significant harm with unimaginable consequences, he added.

Contact the writer at shamim@chinadailyhk.com