‘Despicable’: Hong Kong slams Western ‘smears’ as US calls for Jimmy Lai’s release
‘These biased statements and malicious smears from external forces precisely reflect that the national security risks we face are real,’ government says
Beijing’s top office overseeing city affairs also published a strongly worded commentary on Tuesday, criticising Lai for using “two systems” to oppose “one country” and branding him a “national criminal who will forever be nailed to the pillar of historical shame”.
Lai was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a third count of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious articles in his national security trial.
“I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked [him] to consider his release,” Trump told reporters, without specifying when the conversation took place.