Officials, political heavyweights and professional groups in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have strongly supported the conviction of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying on national security-related charges and rejected attempts by Western countries to glorify and whitewash his crimes under the guise of democracy.
The groundswell of support came after three of Hong Kong's High Court judges found Lai guilty on Monday on all three charges against him — two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
Three companies associated with Lai, who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily — Apple Daily, Apple Daily Printing and Apple Daily Internet — were also found guilty of conspiring to publish seditious materials and conspiring to collude with a foreign country or external forces to endanger national security.
Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top political advisory body, said on social media on Monday that Jimmy Lai is neither a supporter of democracy nor a freedom fighter as some Western media and politicians would like to portray him.
Leung added that for years, Lai had led a campaign to try to turn the high degree of autonomy to which Hong Kong is entitled to under the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Hong Kong SAR Basic Law into de facto independence of Hong Kong, undermining the sovereignty that China has over the HKSAR.
"He might be ignorant ... but definitely not innocent," Leung said.
The former Hong Kong chief executive also laid bare the double standards of the United Kingdom government, saying that if Lai had been in Britain, he would also have been dealt with under the law for sure for what he had done.
In a statement on Tuesday, the HKSAR government lashed out at the Hong Kong Journalists Association and anti-China foreign media outlets for whitewashing Lai's crimes by using democracy as an excuse to mislead the public.
A spokesperson said the association has been intentionally confusing Lai's criminal behavior with freedom of the press.
"Lai's case has nothing to do with freedom of the press at all. Over the years, the defendants have merely used news reporting as a guise to engage in actions that harm the nation and undermine Hong Kong," the spokesperson said, urging them to immediately cease all forms of infiltration on behalf of external forces.
Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung stressed on Monday that nobody is above the law, and law enforcement action will be taken if there is sufficient evidence.
Tang noted that many representatives of foreign consulates in Hong Kong were present throughout Lai's trial and they witnessed an open and fair conduct of the court's proceedings.
Echoing Tang on the falsely claimed "inhumane treatment" toward Lai during the trial, the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR said in a letter on Monday to foreign media outlets in the city that Lai's legal rights had been diligently upheld.
As confirmed in court by Lai's lawyer, the defendant had been given timely and appropriate medical care whenever needed while in custody, and solitary confinement was arranged at his request.
Furthermore, Lai's religious beliefs were fully respected, with the Hong Kong Correctional Services Department organizing dedicated religious services, like Holy Communion, for him in accordance with his wishes.
Two of the city's major legal groups also joined in the chorus of support for the verdict, saying it is a demonstration of judicial independence and professionalism in the SAR, as well as a clear signal of the city's commitment to upholding national security.
The Hong Kong Bar Association reiterated that legal practitioners have been "independently and professionally discharging their duties to maintain the rule of law", with judges having no political considerations, but rather adjudicating "on the cases before them, based on the law and evidence alone".
The Law Society of Hong Kong pointed out that Hong Kong is not the only jurisdiction to have enacted laws to safeguard national security, as many other jurisdictions have similar legislation.
gangwen@chinadaily.com.cn
