Beijing hits back at ex-US diplomats’ support of Jimmy Lai, says they ‘beautify’ Apple Daily founder’s acts of ‘chaos’ in Hong Kong
- ‘To see one of Hong Kong’s leading journalists put on trial … sullies the reputation and brilliance’ that city once enjoyed, say four former American diplomats
- Lai’s trial enters its 26th day with court hearing how media tycoon discussed in 2019 possible US sanction targets in his commentaries
China’s foreign ministry arm in Hong Kong has expressed “strong dissatisfaction” with four former US diplomats for their support of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, accusing them of “beautifying” the media tycoon’s acts of “chaos” and “blatantly interfering” in the city’s judiciary.
The Commissioner’s Office of the Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong was responding on Thursday to a joint statement by four former US consuls general in the city as Lai, 76, stood trial at West Kowloon Court over charges of sedition, conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and inciting public hatred during the 2019 protests.
“To see one of Hong Kong’s leading journalists put on trial for engaging in normal journalistic practice sullies the reputation and brilliance that Hong Kong once enjoyed. Jimmy Lai should be set free,” ex-diplomats Richard Boucher, Stephen Young, Richard Mueller and James Keith said on Wednesday.
In a strongly worded rebuttal statement on Thursday, a spokesman for the commissioner’s office hit out at the ex-diplomats for supporting Lai and called him a “driving force behind the chaos in Hong Kong”.
“Some external forces have applied all kinds of tricks to justify, cover up and beautify Lai,” the spokesman said. “They slandered and pressured the Hong Kong government, and blatantly interfered in Hong Kong’s judiciary.
“This seriously violated the spirit of the rule of law, the principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations. It is naked political manipulation and hypocritical double standards.”
‘Lai asked top Apple Daily executive to encourage Hongkongers to protest 2019 bill’
The Hong Kong government also lashed out at the former diplomats’ statement, saying any attempt to interfere with the judicial proceedings in Hong Kong undermined the rule of law.
In a statement on Thursday night, a government spokesman said making such remarks was likely to constitute criminal contempt of court or the offence of perverting the course of justice. The government urged the US and the former consuls general to stop interfering in Hong Kong’s internal affairs.
As Lai’s trial entered its 26th day on Thursday, prosecutors presented commentaries he wrote in 2019 in his now-closed Apple Daily tabloid that touched on possible sanction targets after the passage of US legislation in November that year which could bring diplomatic actions against Hong Kong.
Following his lobbying efforts in Washington in October 2019 for the United States to support the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, Lai asked Chan Pui-man, former associate publisher of the tabloid, via WhatsApp to come up with 10 questions about his trip, the court heard.
One of the questions asked: “Could the passing of the ‘Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act’ lead to sanctions against black cops, Regina Ip [Lau Suk-yee] and Junius Ho Kwan-yiu?”
‘Black cops’ was the term used by protesters to describe the city’s police officers.
Chan, who testified as the second prosecution accomplice witness, explained to the three presiding judges that she mentioned the two lawmakers and police because protesters had suggested that they should be sanctioned.
Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai asked Apple Daily to help UK-based rights group: court
The answers to the questions proposed by Chan were subsequently published in a regular column by Lai after then US president Donald Trump signed the bill in November 2020, which could sanction the Hong Kong government for not maintaining autonomy from mainland China.
Prosecutors also accused the tabloid of publishing a photobook titled “Freedom 2019 Summer” ahead of the 2019 district election that carried a slogan “punish killers with voters” in the back page.
Some editions had a HK$10 (US$1.30) price tag on the cover above the words “net proceeds will be donated to the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund”. The now-defunct fund was set up to help those involved in the movement.
The newspaper later gave away an “anti-authoritarianism calendar” to readers in January 2020 when new rounds of protests broke out, the court heard.
The trial continues on Friday.
