Hong Kong rioters tied Global Times reporter Fu Guohao to an airport trolley and beat him after falsely claiming he was a fake reporter. File Photo: AFP

The attack on former Global Times reporter Fu Guohao in 2019 was "ordered by US spy Mark Simon," the convicted attacker told the Hong Kong High Court on Thursday. 

Amy Pat Wai-fan and Lai Yun-long, attackers of then-Global Times reporter Fu Guohao at the Hong Kong International Airport in August 2019, were found guilty of rioting and other crimes, and were sentenced to 51 months and 63 months in prison, respectively, in January. Later, the two appealed the conviction to the Hong Kong High Court.

On Thursday, Lai withdrew his appeal, but shouted, "I was ordered to do it by US spy Mark Simon! I have wronged Fu Guohao! I apologize to the 1.4 billion Chinese people!"

Pat admitted to assault and forced detention, but wanted a lighter sentence. She told the appeal judge that she had simply followed others in committing the crime and that she had never thought about its seriousness, and regretted her actions. 

After hearing the arguments, the judge rejected her appeal. 

Mark Simon, a top aide of imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, worked as a submarine analyst in the US Naval Intelligence from 1987 to 1991. He went to Hong Kong in 2000 and gained permanent residence there in 2008.

Simon was also chairman of the GOP's branch in Hong Kong. During the 2008 US presidential election, he organized a campaign with the US Chamber of Commerce and wrote a letter to an American broadcasting company seeking sponsorship, in which he identified himself as the branch's chairman.

Media reports also revealed that Lai's interactions with US senior officials during the 2014 illegal Occupy Central movement and the social turmoil in the summer of 2019 were arranged by Simon.

Lai and Simon invested at least HK$13.7 million in a scheme aimed at forcing the government to accede to protesters' demands, according to the court. Lai has been serving multiple jail terms for national security offenses, among other crimes. 

Simon has left Hong Kong and is wanted by the Hong Kong police. 

Global Times