Beijing slams Western UN diplomats over meeting Jimmy Lai's son and legal team
The Chinese foreign ministry's arm in Hong Kong has slammed the American, British and Canadian ambassadors to the United Nations, accusing them of interfering in the city's affairs after the son of jailed former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying met them last week.
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In a statement issued on Sunday, the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong called Lai 'the top culprit among anti-China elements' and expressed 'strong disapproval and firm rejection' of the meeting involving the ambassadors and Lai's family and legal team.
'They were emboldening anti-China destabilising forces, smearing Hong Kong's rule of law and interfering in Hong Kong and China's internal affairs,' the spokesman said.
Lai, 77,
has denied two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the national security law and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications. His oral testimony at West Kowloon Court lasted for more than 50 days.
Sebastien Lai, the son of the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper, wrote on social media that he met the diplomats between Thursday and Saturday. Some of the officials openly called for the release of Jimmy Lai afterward.
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The office spokesman said 'anti-China destabilising forces' had crossed 'legal red lines' and challenged Hong Kong's constitutional order and the fundamental principles of the 'one country, two systems' governing system, as well as colluded with external forces to endanger national security.
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