Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Regarding the court’s sentencing yesterday (February 9) for Lai Chee-ying and the other eight defendants, as well as three companies relating to Apple Daily in respect of their convictions of a total of three charges of offences endangering national security, the western countries, anti-China media, organisations and politicians have used this as a pretext to slander, smear, and attack the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). They have even maliciously disparaged the court’s independent judgement and sentence handed down in accordance with the law. The HKSAR Government firmly opposed and strongly condemned such despicable conduct.
A spokesman for the HKSAR Government said, “‘Lai Chee-ying case’ was the first convicted case of the offence of ‘collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security’ since the promulgation and implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL). This marks an important milestone in the HKSAR’s efforts to safeguard national security, manifesting the role of the HKNSL as a key stabilising force. This case also admonishes that villains who endanger national security could never escape the sanctions of the law and would surely be severely punished in accordance with the law. Under the robust protection of the HKNSL, the attempts by external forces to ‘use Hong Kong to contain China’ are doomed to fail, leaving them with no option but only to smear and vilify the HKSAR’s efforts to safeguard national security with futile and despicable political manoeuvres which would be in vain. By distorting facts and reversing right and wrong, their malicious intent has been seen through by all and must be resolutely refuted to set the record straight.”