In a commentary published on the front page of the Communist Party-run People’s Daily’s overseas edition on Friday, the newspaper said the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a Washington-based nonprofit group, became involved in the Hong Kong protests as part of a US strategy to undermine foreign governments in the name of promoting democracy.

Citing unidentified media reports, the commentary claimed that Louisa Greve, a director at NED, met Hong Kong protest leaders months ago to discuss the movement.