On December 15, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was found guilty on two charges of conspiring to collude with external forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials by the High Court of Hong Kong.
The verdict was welcomed in the city and, as expected, prompted another round of outcries from some Western countries. As Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, I feel obliged to set the record straight and reaffirm our commitment to the rule of law.
First, why was Lai convicted? Putting on a thin veneer of journalistic professionalism, he deeply involved himself in and even masterminded a series of anti-China incidents, as proved by the evidence presented during the trial.
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Acting as a proxy for external anti-China forces, Lai abused his media influence to incite social hatred and confrontation, actively promoted violent unrest and played a central role behind the 2019 “black violence” in Hong Kong.
He openly pleaded with foreign powers to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. Such actions seriously endangered national security, severely harmed Hong Kong’s social stability and inflicted lasting trauma on its citizens. It was therefore not only necessary but imperative for him to face legal consequences.
In any jurisdiction, Lai’s actions would constitute serious criminal offences. To draw a parallel: if someone from a Western country used his influence to incite violence against his own government, colluded with foreign officials and called for sanctions to be imposed against his own nation, would that country’s judicial system allow such behaviour to go unpunished? The answer is obvious.