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.”
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.
