File photo of Jimmy Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong Photo: VCG

"Jimmy Lai is a Chinese national," said Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, on Monday. Lai was the principal mastermind and perpetrator behind the series of riots that shook Hong Kong. His moves seriously breached the principles and bottom line of One Country, Two Systems, endanger national security and hurt Hong Kong's prosperity and stability and Hong Kong residents' wellbeing. There is every reason to bring him to justice, Lin said. 

Those remarks were made just hours after the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday morning sentenced Jimmy Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong, to 20 years in prison. 

Lai was found guilty in December by the High Court of the HKSAR on two charges of conspiring to collude with external forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials. Mitigation hearing for Lai's case began on January 12 and concluded on January 13, according to Xinhua News Agency. 

The defendants in the national security case include Lai, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and Apple Daily Internet Limited, all facing charges of conspiracy to publish seditious materials and conspiracy to collude with external forces. Lai was also facing a separate charge of conspiring to collude with external forces, per Xinhua. 

Wide ranging reaction 

Inside the courtroom, as the judge read out the verdict, Lai kept his head lowered throughout with a grave expression. When the 20-year imprisonment sentence was announced, someone in the courtroom audience stood up, raised a hand, and shouted "Good!", a brief exclamation that voiced the long-held hopes of many for justice to be done, according to local media including Sing Tao Daily.

Multiple central government authorities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) expressed firm support on Monday for the HKSAR in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to safeguard national security and in lawfully handing down a sentence decision in the Lai's case. 

This sentence sends a stern and forceful message that no matter who it is, anyone who dares to challenge laws safeguarding national security will be severely punished, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a statement on Monday.

For many Hong Kong residents, Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily are associated with the violent unrest in 2019. Chu Kar-kin, a Hong Kong resident who personally experienced the 2019 "black violence" riots, told Global Times after the court handed down its sentence on Monday that the verdict was "deeply satisfying."

Chu recalled that during that period in 2019, a cloud of violence hung over Hong Kong society, severely disrupting the daily lives of residents. Whether commuting to work or school, dining out, or shopping, people were gripped by anxiety and fear. MTR stations were defaced with graffiti and heavily damaged, street violence was frequent, and residents worried they could be attacked at any moment by black-clad mobs, seriously undermining normal social order. For families with children in particular, the experience cast a long and indelible shadow over their children's growth. "Justice may be delayed, but it is never denied," Chu said.

In addition to orchestrating the riots in Hong Kong, Lai also made heinous remarks about China.

In July 2019, Lai attended a conversation hosted by the US think tank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he made an outrageous and extremist statement, openly urging the US to use nuclear weapons against China, CGTN reported. 

His extremist, anti-human rhetoric was widely condemned as reckless and dangerous, drawing strong criticism from multiple sides, per CGTN. 

The court's ruling strictly adhered to the principles of legality and proportionality in sentencing, Willy Fu, a law professor who is also director of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"Based on conclusive evidence that had been fairly examined in court and on the relevant legal provisions, the court assessed the actual and potential threats posed by Lai's criminal conduct to overall national security and ultimately imposed a corresponding severe sentence, fully reflecting Hong Kong's fine tradition of the rule of law," Fu said. 

Lai's 20-year imprisonment sentence is an inevitable outcome of Hong Kong's judicial system safeguarding national security and the dignity of the rule of law. It demonstrates a firm stance that any act endangering national interests will be met with severe punishment under the law, a local legal expert said on Monday. 

"Lai's crimes have long been irrefutable in the face of overwhelming evidence. For years, he colluded with external forces, pleaded for foreign countries to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong, and openly challenged the fundamental principle of 'One Country, Two Systems'," Louis Chen, member of the Hong Kong Election Committee, told the Global Times. 

Lai's case underscores the fairness and impartiality of the rule of law in Hong Kong and shows that no one is above the law, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant from the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies who is also a senior policy advisor, told the Global Times on Monday. 

"In the past, many believed that Lai wielded enormous influence in Hong Kong and, emboldened by backing from external forces, was beyond the reach of legal action," Lau said.

The ability of judges and prosecutors to withstand pressure from the United States and Western countries, and to carry out judicial and law-enforcement duties without fear or favor, will also enhance Hong Kong's resolve and capacity to uphold the rule of law on the international stage, thereby boosting its international image and attractiveness as an investment destination, Lau noted.

Lai's crimes are heinous and numerous. His 20-year imprisonment sentence demonstrates the rule of law, upholds justice, and is deeply gratifying to the public, the HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee said on Monday in a social media post.  

Refuting Western smears 

Lai's 20-year imprisonment sentence on Monday was also covered by some mainstream Western media outlets, such as New York Times and BBC, which attempted to use the case to smear China.

Some legal experts and officials in the HKSAR have been repeatedly refuting some Western media reports about Lai, saying that by portraying Lai as a so-called "democracy and press freedom fighter", these reports were trying to smear the status of HKSAR's judicial system. 

The UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper claimed that the sentence is a "politically motivated prosecution" aimed at Lai "for exercising his right to freedom of expression," Sky News reported on Monday.

On Monday, the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR said in an article addressed to foreign media outlets stationed in the city that reporting on the Lai case in an objective and impartial manner is the responsibility of the media. It sincerely hopes that foreign journalists based in Hong Kong will respect the city's independent judicial ruling, uphold professional journalistic ethics, adhere to principles of objectivity and fairness in their reporting, and refrain from politicizing legal issues.

Facts have proven that when the law on safeguarding national security in Hong Kong is implemented well, there is greater assurance for security and stability in Hong Kong, for the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents, for Hong Kong's reputation, and for the steady and sustained implementation of One Country, Two Systems, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin said. 

The judicial case is purely an internal affair of the Hong Kong SAR. We urge relevant countries to respect China's sovereignty, respect the rule of law in Hong Kong, not make irresponsible remarks on the Hong Kong SAR's handling of the case, and not interfere in Hong Kong's judicial affairs and China's internal affairs in any form, the spokesperson noted.