Photo shows the building of the Office of the Commissioner of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR on March. 21, 2017. (Photo: Xinhua)

The Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region sent separate letters on Tuesday to two major US media outlets - the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and the Washington Post - rebutting their editorials on the conviction of the Jimmy Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong. 

The WSJ's editorial reached new heights of absurdity, labeling the verdict as a "phony trial" and once again portraying Lai as a "freedom-loving journalist." It downplayed his collusion with foreign forces as merely an attempt to gain support, while completely ignoring his calls for foreign sanctions against China and his open declaration of "fighting for the US," a spokesperson from the office said, asking "does the leadership of your newspaper has the courage to publicly call for foreign sanctions against the US and claim to fight for a foreign power?"

After more than 150 days of hearings and an 855-page judgment, your newspaper still insists that there is "no serious evidence." Such an editorial is nothing but a "phony editorial," the spokesperson said.

Unable to find flaws in the judicial process, your newspaper places its hopes on so-called diplomatic discussions and even takes the trouble to write out talking points for future discussions. It openly calls on the leaders of the US and the UK to pressure China, and shamelessly claims that "releasing Jimmy Lai would be a favor to China." To call for his release through pressure tactics is an insult to the rule of law and diplomacy, the spokesperson said. 

Your carefully orchestrated "diplomatic drama" disregards international law and national sovereignty — an unrealistic fantasy that we will not entertain. The rule of law has never been a bargaining chip, and the bottom line of national security cannot be challenged, the spokesperson emphasized. 

The office also sent a letter to the Washington Post on Tuesday after the newspaper published an editorial on the latest verdict of Jimmy Lai. 

"Your editorial on Monday titled 'Jimmy Lai and Hong Kong' is a meticulously edited yet failed trailer that cuts out the core plot of 'collusion with external forces.' This script is quite capricious," the spokesperson from the office said, noting that the "show trial editorial" can now come to an end. It's time to return to professional integrity and the truth. "Regarding the Jimmy Lai case, let me conclude with one sentence: When freedom is abused as a dagger, the law must become a shield. This principle applies universally," the spokesperson said.

Let's take a look at the full story: The 855-page court judgment is not a fictional novel, but the result of a 156-day public hearing, 2,220 pieces of evidence, over 80,000 pages of documents, and the testimony of 14 prosecution witnesses that together build a wall of truth, the spokesperson said. 

When a person uses "freedom of the press" as a disguise to beg foreign politicians to impose sanctions on their own government, and even openly declares "fighting for the US," they have long since departed from the journalism profession and are engaging in criminal acts that endanger national security, the spokesperson noted. 

As for the melodramatic lines in your editorial about "health concerns" and "detention secrets," they are nothing but baseless fabrications, the spokesperson said. 

After being unable to find any flaws in the legal proceedings, you resort to playing the victim card. Jimmy Lai received timely, comprehensive and appropriate medical treatment in prison, and his health is good. Even his defense lawyer admitted in court that the treatment was in accordance with regulations. How can you still continue with this sob story? The spokesperson asked.