As the leaders of North Korea and Vietnam sent effusive letters of congratulation to Beijing to mark the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, protesters in London burned the Chinese flag, and threw maggots and dung on it outside the Chinese embassy, in protest at Beijing's human rights record, reports Radio Free Asia.

Hong Kongers, Tibetans, and Uyghurs organized around 15 protests in UK cities to mark the 73rd National Day and "say no to the CCP," as Russian president Vladimir Putin, Cuban president Miguel Diaz-Canel and Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni added their congratulations, according to state news agency Xinhua as quoted by RFA.

Chanting "China lied! People died! Shame on the CCP!", the demonstrators marched from Piccadilly Circus to the Chinese embassy, carrying placards opposing totalitarian rule by the CCP.

"What this day teaches us is that we lost our freedoms because of the party," Wong told RFA. "I don't think this is a day to celebrate, but a day when an axis of evil was established."

"The CCP hasn't just harmed Hong Kong, but the whole country," she said. "It is also exploiting freedoms around the world ... for example abstaining from the U.N. vote on Russia."