Lai’s crimes were ‘heinous’, says HK leaderpublished at 06:19 GMT
06:19 GMT
Image source, Getty Images
Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee Ka-chiu has celebrated Jimmy Lai’s sentencing as “deeply gratifying”, describing his crimes as “heinous” and “utterly despicable”.
“For a long time, Lai used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens, incite hatred, distort facts, deliberately create social division, glorify violence, and openly beg external forces to sanction China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” Lee wrote in a Facebook post on Monday afternoon.
“Jimmy Lai’s heinous acts endangering national security have harmed the interests of the country and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, as well as the interests of the citizens.”
Lee, who has previously welcomed convictions against Lai, also characterised today’s sentencing as “a significant milestone in Hong Kong’s efforts to safeguard national security”.
Lai’s 20-year sentence is is the harshest to be given under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law.