By Wen Liping
Good will be rewarded with good, and evil with evil; justice may be delayed, but never denied. Finally, the day of the verdict in the Jimmy Lai case that countless Hong Kong people have been long awaiting has arrived!
After a trial that lasted 156 days, the court yesterday convicted Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Digital, and three Apple Daily-related companies of all the charges they faced, which included colluding with external forces and conspiring to publish seditious publications. The court found that Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily's senior management were guilty of "conspiracy to publish seditious publications" and "conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security".
From the illegal "Occupy Central" movement to the turmoil over the proposed legislative amendments in 2019, Lai has been one of the biggest masterminds behind the scenes. His crimes in harming Hong Kong are supported by irrefutable evidence, and this verdict demonstrates that he has gotten what he deserved for his heinous crimes. The conviction of Jimmy Lai on all charges fully upholds the authority of the Hong Kong National Security Law.
Looking back at the "color revolution" in 2019 that brought endless suffering to all Hong Kong citizens and whose painful memories are still fresh and indelible, everything is still vivid in our minds! The rioters openly clamored for "Hong Kong independence", waved the "independence flag", incited violence to "establish a country", tore up the Basic Law, publicly burned the national flag, defaced the national emblem, vandalized the Legislative Council, assaulted and verbally abused innocent citizens, and violently attacked law enforcers, with bloody scenes occurring almost every day! The rioters also blocked major roads, defaced the streets with graffiti, posted seditious slogans everywhere, and even occupied universities to manufacture lethal weapons, turning prestigious international institutions of higher education into battlefields. Statistics show that the ongoing violent activities during the turmoil over the proposed legislative amendments resulted in more than 3,000 injuries. The street bricks pried up by the rioters could fill 48 basketball courts, and the dismantled railings stacked together would be as tall as 125 International Commerce Centre (ICC) buildings!
Jimmy Lai was the main "big stage" orchestrating and coordinating the black-clad violence! Over the years, he meticulously planned and deployed, pretending to be a "guardian of freedom" on the surface and waving the false banner of democracy, while secretly colluding deeply with external forces, acting as a "foreign agent" to serve anti-China politicians in the United States for personal gain, at the expense of betraying the nation and the people. He frenetically activated the propaganda and incitement machinery of his media outlets to mislead young people into misunderstanding the country, becoming hostile toward the government, and resorting to violence. He led them astray, foolishly turning them into cannon fodder for the Hong Kong version of a "color revolution", ultimately landing them in prison and being discarded as pawns. Troublemakers like Jimmy Lai, who brought disaster to Hong Kong, not only sacrificed the bright futures of a generation of Hong Kong youth but also shattered countless families who had hoped for their children's success. They even pushed Hong Kong's situation to the brink of the abyss!
Politicians supporting Lai are hypocritical and double-standard
The general public will not forget that the absurd rumor of the "Prince Edward Station incident on August 31" originated from Apple Daily. This fake news provided propaganda support for black-clad rioters who occupied the station's exit for years, setting up a "memorial altar" and engaging in reactionary mourning activities. Apple Daily repeatedly exaggerated reports about the so-called "pop-eyed girl", describing her "right eye socket as if left with a hole" and her injuries as "extremely terrifying and severe, no different from murder". In reality, the lie was exposed when it was found that the woman's eyes were intact and still sharp. As for the so-called "letters from prison" frequently seen in Apple Daily, each one was filled with the evil intention of brainwashing Hong Kong people, rife with anti-China and Hong Kong-disrupting ideologies aimed at misleading the public. Apple Daily's sensationalism and provocation of conflicts were commonplace. In July 2019, it even dared to falsely report that the HKSAR government intended to impose a "martial law order", strictly implementing district-specific curfews and martial law, and restricting citizens' marches and assemblies, which ultimately triggered the escalation of violence during the turmoil over the proposed legislative amendments.
Most ironically, scum like Jimmy Lai actually received support from certain anti-China politicians in the U.S. Congress. Politicians from the United States and the West constantly fabricated so-called "bills" and so-called "annual reports", colluding with ill-intentioned foreign media and anti-China news organizations such as "Reporters Without Borders" to distort the truth, create international public opinion pressure, and attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs, openly smearing Hong Kong's judicial system and the fair, just, and open trial. Even after the verdict was announced, some politicians from the United States and the West still claimed that "Hong Kong has lost freedom of speech" and that "Lai was politically persecuted". However, the court's verdict gave them a resounding slap in the face, demonstrating that all their attempts to whitewash Lai and express sympathy for him were merely hypocritical double standards driven by selfish motives.
Justice may be delayed, but it is never absent. The conviction of Jimmy Lai demonstrates that Hong Kong's rule of law is rock-solid, the court is impartial, and the judge performed his duty with integrity, playing an important role in upholding the rule of law, fairness and justice, and national security.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
(Source: Wen Wei Po)
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