Holden Chow says the group has consistently enjoyed the ill-intentioned endorsement and support of foreign anti-China powers and politicians

The Court of First Instance of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region handed down sentences in the case of the “Hong Kong Alliance” on Friday, after the defendants were found guilty of incitement to subversion under the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law (NSL) earlier this year. The court reiterated that the circumstances of the subject case were grave and that the sentences imposed must reflect this severity; consequently, Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung were sentenced to seven years and seven years and three months in prison respectively. Albert Ho Chun-yan, who had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

Article 1 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) stipulates: “The socialist system is the fundamental system of the People’s Republic of China. Leadership by the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

The platform long advocated by the “Hong Kong Alliance” sought to overthrow the leadership status of the CPC and to subvert the constitutional order of the PRC. Even after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, the defendants continued to blatantly champion this agenda that endangers national security.

The case illustrates how subversive forces in the HKSAR can incite unrest and subvert the country’s constitutional order,’  playing to Western anti-China forces’ goal of containing China.

Since its foundation, the People’s Republic of China has traversed a journey from poverty and destitution — through numerous efforts, including reform and opening up — to a state of  self-reliance and is nowadays the second largest economy in the world. China achieved this miracle by steadfastly adhering to its political system and pursuing its own path, rather than copying Western-style models. From the perspective of anti-China forces, dismantling the constitutional order with the leadership of the CPC as a fundamental feature is the most effective way to cripple the nation.

The ideal scenario for Western China hawks is for China’s national security defense system to be dismantled, allowing internal conflicts to be stoked and civil unrest to be incited, causing the country’s  collapse from within. The “Hong Kong Alliance” has consistently enjoyed the ill-intentioned endorsement and support of foreign anti-China powers and politicians, who have pushed the group to the forefront to carry out these subversive operations.

The HKSAR must remain vigilant against these hostile maneuvers; maintaining a high level of alertness is essential to safeguarding national security.

The author is a member of the Legislative Council, and vice-chairman of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.