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

Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday. It is gratifying to see that the chief instigator behind Hong Kong's riots has finally faced legal punishment for his numerous crimes. The 156-day public trial, along with the 855-page Reasons for Verdict, laid out facts that have enabled both Hong Kong society and the international community to clearly see how Lai, as the No.1 agent cultivated by the US in Hong Kong, systematically and deliberately assisted his "masters" in orchestrating a "color revolution" in the city.

Lai's hatred of China and willingness to serve as a US 'agent'

Many of Lai's remarks revealed a primitive admiration for the US and the West. Even during the trial, he made no attempt to conceal this attitude, openly treating the US as the "moral authority of the world." 

At the same time, Lai harbored deep hostility toward China. He viewed China's rise as a threat to the US-led world order and believed that the West should unite to confront China. As the judgment pointedly noted, Lai had long harbored his resentment and hatred of China even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the people of China and Hong Kong.

If this "pro-US, anti-China" mentality constituted the internal motive for his betrayal of the country, the appearance of Mark Simon - a former US naval intelligence employee - provided both the opportunity and the assistance for Lai to align himself with the US. As the judge observed, Simon played an important and "mysterious" role, possessed extensive connections, and acted as Lai's eyes and ears in American politics. The two colluded, and Lai gradually degenerated into a traitor who sought personal gain at the expense of his nation.

Lai as the chief accomplice used by the US to instigate a 'color revolution' in Hong Kong

Looking at "color revolution" cases around the world, their implementation paths often follow a five-stage model: public opinion manipulation and indoctrination - cultivation of forces - triggering incidents - external intervention and pressure - regime change. In each case, external forces invariably rely on "agents" planted in the targeted country or region. At every stage of the brewing and escalation of the Hong Kong-style "color revolution" during the turbulence over the amendment bill, Lai, an "agent" fostered by the US, played a central role.

The first step is to manipulate public opinion and undermine public trust in the government. For years, Lai tightly controlled the editorial policy and decision-making of Apple Daily, repeatedly smearing the SAR government and the mainland. For example, he claimed that a secondary school built with Hong Kong's assistance in Ya'an used foam boards and hollow bricks and sensationalized the police's use of simplified Chinese signage in parts of the New Territories as a campaign to eliminate traditional Chinese characters. 

Lai openly advocated for the "Five-district referendum campaign," vigorously built momentum for the illegal "Occupy Central" movement and the illegal "primary elections." He smeared the public security authorities by claiming they had installed listening devices in vehicles traveling between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong, and demonized the "co-location arrangement" as allowing Chinese mainland law enforcement to operate in Hong Kong, deliberately creating fear and alienation among Hong Kong residents toward the motherland. And "Lai had long used Apple Daily to poison the minds of Hong Kong citizens, by inciting hatred, distorting facts, deliberately stirring up social antagonism and glorifying violence. He had openly begged for external forces to impose sanctions against China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), sacrificing the well-being of the people of China and the HKSAR."

Lai has long provided political "black money" to the opposition camp. Court proceedings revealed that between 2013 and 2020, he transferred over HK$118 million ($15.10 million) to Mark Simon in 86 separate payments, of which more than HK$93 million was funneled to so-called "pan-democrat" political parties and figures. Insiders have exposed that a significant portion of these huge sums originated from the CIA, the US National Endowment for Democracy, and similar sources, making Jimmy Lai's role as a "white glove" self-evident. 

The court explicitly stated that Lai was the mastermind and the driving force behind conspiracies.

In the early stages of the disturbance related to an amendment bill in Hong Kong, Lai saw an opportunity to destabilize Hong Kong and fully mobilized his propaganda machine, stoking widespread fear and inciting mass marches. Even after the SAR government suspended the amendment, he ordered an escalation of the media campaign. Apple Daily repeatedly ran front-page headlines such as "the evil law has not been withdrawn" and urged "street protests again," publishing detailed notices listing protest times, slogans, and routes. Jimmy Lai himself appeared at the forefront of marches, holding banners and chanting slogans. Apple Daily also printed a "Complete Resistance Manual" that explicitly instructed rioters on how to evade police pursuit and manufacture or use violent tools. It fabricated fake news stories to inflame public sentiment and drive continuous escalation of street violence. In court, Lai himself admitted to being one of the "leaders" of the disturbance related to an amendment bill.  

During the disturbance related to an amendment bill in Hong Kong, Lai made multiple trips to the US, lobbied Congress to pass the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, urged sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland officials, and submitted a sanctions list through pro‑independence organizations he supported. He used Apple Daily to launch the so‑called "One Person, One Letter to Save Hong Kong" campaign. He publicly said, "we really want the US to influence us," and openly urged the US to use nuclear weapons against China. Court trials confirmed that Jimmy Lai cooperated with a network of foreign contacts and repeatedly asked foreign countries, especially the US, to impose sanctions or blockade or to engage in other hostile activities against the central government and the HKSAR.

The final step of a "color revolution" is to place agents serving US interests into power and seize control of a country or region. Jimmy Lai and his "masters" had the same aim: by creating chaos in Hong Kong, they sought to spread the disaster to the mainland. If Hong Kong's unrest had not been curbed in time - if Jimmy Lai, this "Trojan virus," had not been removed - the US could have swept into Hong Kong and acted as it pleased. What, then, would Hong Kong look like today? But Lai and the US miscalculated: The national security law for Hong Kong has stabilized the city and ended the era when foreign-backed agents could run rampant. Lai's 20-year prison sentence also sends a clear signal: No matter how cleverly an "agent" hides or how powerful their backers, they will ultimately face the full force of the law.

The author is a member of Chinese Association of Hong Kong & Macao Studies. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn