Jimmy Lai trial: Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece calls Western politicians ‘shameless liars’, accuses them of glorifying Hong Kong tycoon
Hong Kong court rejects bid by Jimmy Lai to block witness’ ‘irrelevant’ evidence
Tuesday’s commentary described some politicians and media in the West as “despicable and shameless liars”, accusing them of misleading public opinion and undermining rights to a fair trial by glorifying Lai as an “upright media personality”, a “devout Christian” and a “fighter for freedom, democracy and human rights”.
“The devil is the devil. Paints cannot hide his ugly and ferocious face,” it said. “Those American and Western politicians and media have spared no effort to glorify Lai and demand justice for him loudly. Do they want to indicate that they are in the same league?”
An editorial by The Wall Street Journal last Friday slammed Hong Kong authorities for “criminalising Lai’s calls to uphold freedom and the rule of law”.
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Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai's high-stakes national security trial gets under way
People’s Daily also took aim at Western politicians and media outlets for saying the proceedings were “unfair”, arguing the practice of trying national security cases without a jury was common among jurisdictions.
The newspaper defended a court decision to deny Lai bail.
In December 2020, he was briefly granted bail and placed under house arrest after being charged with collusion with foreign forces, with the court later revoking the decision and placing the media tycoon in custody.
The media tycoon has been detained for more than 1,100 days.
Jimmy Lai gave generously to Hong Kong opposition and US groups, court hears
“When Lai was on bail, he frequently contacted foreign politicians and anti-China elements in Hong Kong,” the newspaper said. “He did not stop activities endangering national security at all.
“It is completely legal and reasonable to deny him bail. Haven’t those American and Western politicians and media understood the causal links?”
Sebastien Lai Sung-yan, one of the tycoon’s sons, last month met British Foreign Secretary David Cameron to lobby for the country’s help in securing his father’s release from prison.
People’s Daily pointed to the meeting and several others as a part of Western politicians’ effort to prevent Jimmy Lai from receiving a fair trial.