Not a ‘president’s son’: official rejects calls to pardon Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai

A Beijing official overseeing Hong Kong’s national security has dismissed calls from foreign groups to pardon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, questioning the need to do so as the former media boss is not “a certain president’s son”.

Sun Qingye, deputy director of Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong, also warned on Friday against imposing pressure on local judges.

Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, completed his oral testimony on his 52nd day in the witness box on Thursday, defending against two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications.

The prosecution of the 77-year-old had drawn widespread condemnation from some Western countries as politically motivated, with US President Donald Trump previously saying he would “100 per cent” get Lai out of the country during his election campaign.

But Sun on Friday questioned the need to pardon Lai as some suggested.