Experts: Lai not freedom fighter, but a pawn of the West

Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is not a fighter for democracy or press freedom, but a pawn of Western countries, experts and political heavyweights in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said on Wednesday, emphasizing that freedom of speech remains intact and vibrant in the city.

Speaking to China Daily, Lau Siu-kai, a consultant with the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, said that Lai is a pawn of Western countries, who used his case as a pretext to launch an ideological war against China.

By portraying Lai as a so-called "fighter for democracy", Western countries are trying to smear the HKSAR's judicial system, human rights and democracy and incite dissatisfaction in the international community toward China and the SAR, Lau said. With the same goal, they spread rumors that Lai suffered "inhumane treatment" throughout the legal proceedings, he added.

"In fact, during the 156 days of open trial, Lai himself testified in court for 52 days. Everyone could see he was in good health," said Lau, expressing disappointment with the Western media for disregarding facts.

The Hong Kong High Court convicted Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, on Monday on all three charges against him — two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.

Echoing Lau, Hong Kong Executive Council member and senior counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah said that Lai's act of seeking foreign sanctions against China and the Hong Kong SAR harmed his compatriots and "bordered on treason".

To call such acts as "human rights" and "freedom" completely contradicts the definitions of human rights and freedom as affirmed by the international community, Tong said.

The seasoned legal expert also noted that national security laws around the world are designed to protect national interests, though the specific threats to those interests may vary from one country to another.

"Some Western nations do not face attempts to subvert their own governments or sanctions imposed by other countries. This is because such acts are typically perpetrated only by some Western countries against other nations," he said.

Veteran Hong Kong politician Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said in an exclusive interview with China Daily that unwarranted concerns have been raised about media freedom and freedom of expression in Hong Kong — concerns she described as biased and unfounded.

"A lot of people don't understand that freedom of expression is not an absolute," Ip said.

Citing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, she said that freedom of expression comes with special responsibilities and can be limited in order to protect national security, public order, morals and health.

Furthermore, she said that in Hong Kong, freedom of speech continues to thrive. Taking the recent blaze in Tai Po as an example, she said that coverage of and discussions about the incident have been "extremely widespread", both online and offline. These discussions have focused on the urgent need for institutional reforms and have exposed underlying issues such as building management irregularities and potential collusion among owners, corporations and contractors.

"Hong Kong people continue to enjoy freedom of expression and there has been robust discussion online and offline testifying to the vibrancy of the freedom of expression of Hong Kong people," Ip said.

Western criticism of Lai's conviction also backfired as many Hong Kong residents and organizations on Tuesday gathered outside the United States, British and Australian consulates in the HKSAR to decry attempts to undermine Hong Kong's rule of law.

gangwen@chinadaily.com.cn