Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) trial is a wake-up call to Taiwan and the free world, civic groups said today, warning that Taiwan should be aware that the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) authoritarian red line would only continue to expand.
In a landmark national security case, Lai, the founder of Apple Daily, a now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper, was sentenced to 20 years in jail on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one for publishing seditious materials.
Apple Daily was also forced to cease publication in June 2021 following a series of actions by Hong Kong authorities, including police raids on the paper's headquarters, the freezing of company assets and the arrests of several senior executives.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Six other former Apple Daily executives and senior staffers were sentenced to jail terms ranging from six years and three months to 10 years.
The 78-year-old British citizen had denied all charges against him, telling the court that he was a "political prisoner" facing persecution from Beijing.
Lai’s sentence, the heaviest so far under China-imposed national security legislation, has drawn widespread criticism.
The verdict in Lai’s case was not a judicial ruling but a political signal to suppress dissidents, rights groups said today at an event in Taipei held in support of Lai.
The case showed that a Hong Konger can be labeled as a dissident despite his love for the city, Hong Kong Outlanders secretary-general Sky Fung (馮詔天) said.
China’s cross-border oppression has gone beyond Hong Kong and redefined “foreign forces,” he said, urging people to actively resist China and enhance social resilience to protect freedom and democracy.
The case has demonstrated that press freedom can be arbitrarily defined as “national security threats,” he added.
The trial showed Taiwanese reporters how they would be treated if Taiwan were to be governed by Chinese authorities, former Apple Daily (Taiwan) reporter Lee Chih-te (李志德) said.
The press is the fourth estate, and when it is silenced, democracy vanishes, he said.
Hong Kong is an example of freedom in regression, as Bejing has turned “one country, two systems” into full control of the territory, said Huang Jaw-Nian (黃兆年), an associate professor at National Chengchi University.
Hong Kong would not be the last victim, he said, urging people to continue watching the territory and Lai’s case to safeguard democracy.
Lai has been sacrificed as Hong Kong’s rule of law is sabotaged, Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya (苗博雅) said.
The CCP’s threat to freedom is not limited to Hong Kong, but also extends to Tibet and Xinjiang, she said, urging Taiwanese not to remain silent.
Meanwhile, Lai’s son and daughter pleaded for their father’s freedom on humanitarian grounds.
Sebastien Lai (黎崇恩) yesterday said that a possible visit by US President Donald Trump to Beijing in April could be “crucial” to securing his father’s release.
“The president has said multiple times that this is a case that he cares about,” Sebastien Lai said during a call with reporters. “We are in a situation where the April visit will be, more obviously, be crucial, and, hopefully, my father will still be OK health-wise until that point.”
Speaking of his father, Sebastien Lai said that “this is a man who is, unfortunately, very close to dying. He’s a man who has gone through a tremendous amount. His body has deteriorated.”
“It’s a 20-year sentence, which is comically large, given that my father’s 78. At that point in 20 years, he’ll be 100 almost,” he said. “But in the conditions he’s been kept in ... he might die before then.”
Claire Lai (黎采) called the verdict “extremely unfair” and “laughable,” saying that no one should be under any illusion that the rule of law still exists in Hong Kong.
Any form of dissent is seen as a crime and the trial showed that the territory has “fallen,” she said.
The only solution to her father’s case would be negotiations between sovereign countries, as it cannot be resolved in Hong Kong courts, she said, urging democratic countries to continue to support her father.
Separately, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee (李家超) today called Lai’s sentence “a solemn warning against malicious plots of collusion with external elements and endangering national security.”
The sentence imposed on Lai “manifests that the rule of law is upheld and justice is done,” he said. “Lai has committed numerous heinous crimes, and his evil deeds were beyond measure.”
“Thanks to the Hong Kong National Security Law and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, we now have the tools to take action against all these illegal activities and acts,” he said.
The Hong Kong government last night issued a statement to refute allegations that the ruling would oppress press freedom.
"The [Jimmy Lai] case has nothing to do with freedom of the press at all. Over the years, the defendants were using journalism as a guise to commit acts that brought harm to our country and Hong Kong," a spokesperson said.
In related news, the Chinese State Council today released a policy white paper on Hong Kong's practice of safeguarding national security to ensure stability in a volatile world.
Hong Kong would continue to improve its legal system to safeguard national security, the white paper said, adding that Beijing has "fundamental responsibility" for national security affairs in the territory.
The national security legislation was a "legal shield" that had "neutralized this major threat" and restored order, the white paper said.
Hong Kong's practice of safeguarding national security had "consolidated the security foundation" of the territory’s "one country, two systems" governance model and "further enriched China's national security system,” it added.
Additional reporting by Chen Chih-cheng
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