Beijing’s foreign ministry arm in Hong Kong has issued a rare open letter explaining the “facts and truths” behind former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s guilty verdict, urging international media outlets to uphold objectivity and present an accurate picture to the world.
“To help you better understand the case, I wish to present the facts and truths surrounding it,” a spokesman for the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said on Monday.
The city’s High Court found Lai guilty of two conspiracy counts of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious articles in his national security case.
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The spokesman said Lai was not prosecuted for news reporting or expressing opinions through his media outlets, but rather for colluding with foreign forces to undermine national security.
The letter said Lai often presented himself as a so-called journalist, but in reality was a key planner and participant in a series of destabilising incidents, acting as a pawn of external anti-China forces.
Local authorities accused Lai of abusing media platforms to incite hatred, fuel confrontation and encourage support for violent unrest, describing him as a behind-the-scenes instigator of the 2019 anti-government protests.
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