China Denounces Foreign Criticism Over Hong Kong Publisher’s Sentence
“No foreign country has a right to make irresponsible remarks,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.
The remarks came after the United States criticized the Hong Kong court’s decision on Monday to sentence former media tycoon Jimmy Lai to two decades behind bars.
Lai was found guilty in December of three charges, including two counts of “conspiring to collude with foreign forces” and one charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials. His trial began on Dec. 18, 2023, and was conducted by three judges appointed under the national security law imposed by China in 2020 following widespread protests a year earlier.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the ruling as “an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case,” arguing that the sentence demonstrated Beijing’s readiness to go to “extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms” in Hong Kong.
In response, Lin asserted that the Chinese government “remains unwavering in its determination to safeguard nation’s sovereignty, security, and its development interests and to implement one country, two systems.”
He added: “Any attempt to destabilize Hong Kong and contain China is doomed to fail,” and called on the US and other nations to “abide by international law, … immediately stop meddling into Hong Kong affairs, and stop interfering in China’s internal affairs.”
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