Jimmy Lai, mastermind behind Hong Kong's 2019 riots

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Jimmy Lai was found guilty on two charges of conspiring to collude with external forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials, according to the verdict handed down by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Monday.

In the 2019 violent protests in Hong Kong – orchestrated by external forces and coordinated by internal extremists, the name Jimmy Lai repeatedly stood at the center of public attention.

Lai styled himself as a media figure, businessman, and "democracy fighter," but in reality he is a political broker cloaking himself in the guise of "press freedom," a backstage operator willingly acting as a pawn for external forces, and a chief culprit gravely undermining the "one country, two systems" principle. In so doing he endangered national security, and thus must be severely punished.

"News" as a pretext for political manipulation 

During the 2019 riots, a large number of public facilities were destroyed; MTR stations, shopping malls, roads, lampposts, traffic‑light systems and other infrastructure were systematically vandalized, and Hong Kong's normal public services and business environment were at one point brought to a standstill.

Statistics shows, as of the end of October 2019, over 460 sets of traffic lights in Hong Kong were vandalized by rioters, 46,000 meters of railings were removed, and about 2,900 square meters of pavement tiles were damaged. A total of 145 MTR and Light Rail stations – closely connected to the daily lives and work of Hong Kong residents – were vandalized, with extensive damage to facilities. Fare gates were damaged about 1,600 times, and around 1,100 CCTV cameras inside stations were destroyed.

In this wave of street violence, Lai was by no means a "passive onlooker." On the one hand, the media outlets under his control downplayed the facts of violence and amplified antagonistic emotions over a long period in their coverage, glossing over or even deliberately beautifying serious illegal acts, portraying arson, vandalism and assaults as so‑called "valiant resistance," and providing a veneer of "legitimacy" for violence. 

On the other hand, he frequently appeared at rallies, marches and related activities, giving high‑profile support to protest actions, and through interviews, social‑media posts and media columns, continuously sent signals to society to "keep resisting" and "escalate actions," objectively playing a role in mobilizing and encouraging the unrest.

In the arena of public opinion, he and his team behind the scenes continuously demonized the police's lawful enforcement, smearing efforts to stop violence and restore order as "crackdowns on freedom," further aggravating tensions between police and civilians and providing a breeding ground in public discourse for violent behavior.

As the founder of Next Digital, Lai has long manipulated Apple Daily and other outlets, turning "news reporting" into a tool for political mobilization and constantly smearing the central authorities and the HKSAR government, while recklessly fanning social emotions.

So‑called "press freedom" is by no means a shield for fabricating rumors and inciting confrontation, nor is it a talisman for interfering with the judiciary and challenging national security. Any practice carried out in the name of "media oversight" that in essence manipulates public opinion and misleads the public runs counter to the spirit of the modern rule of law and professional ethics.

Willing agent of external forces

Court documents from the HKSAR High Court show that Lai's activities of requesting foreign countries to impose sanctions, blockades, or take other hostile actions against China and China's HKSAR had not ceased even after the implementation of the National Security Law. 

Public records also indicate that Lai had multiple contacts with then U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, then National Security Advisor John Bolton, as well as Republican senators Ted Cruz and Cory Gardner, among others, urging foreign forces to impose so-called "sanctions" and other hostile measures against Hong Kong. In addition, during her tenure, Julie Eadeh, the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong, was revealed to have invited anti-China figures to attend events.

Lai's clandestine dealings with overseas "foundations" have long ceased to be a secret. Public information indicates that through personal donations and project cooperation, Lai engaged in financial interactions with certain institutions deeply involved in so‑called "color revolutions" in many parts of the world, with funds heavily directed towards shoring up opposition forces, packaging street movements and amplifying anti‑China public‑opinion offensives.

During the 2019 riots, Western financial capital groups repeatedly pushed up the share price of Next Digital, after which Next Digital sold at a high level and cashed out large sums of "black money."

These organizations bear the name of "foundations," but in many countries and regions they have been accused of interfering in elections, manipulating the media and funding street movements, and have long been subject to international suspicion. Lai willingly acted as one link in this chain, drawing external interference forces into issues that should have been resolved within Hong Kong society through the rule of law and consultation, turning Hong Kong into a forward "testing ground" for external forces to manipulate geopolitical games.

Such behavior – colluding with external forces and begging for "foreign intervention" – gravely harms national sovereignty and security, and also damages Hong Kong's overall interests and international image. Treating Hong Kong as a pawn for certain forces to exert pressure on China not only betrays the original intent of the "One country, Two systems" principle but is also doomed to be repudiated by both the law and history.

Rioters must be held to account 

Lai's conviction is entirely justified.

Yet some anti‑China forces outside the country not only make indiscreet remarks and crudely interfere in China's internal affairs, but also, by manipulating so‑called "bills" and "reports," provide public‑opinion and political shields for anti‑China, destabilizing elements in Hong Kong, forming a de facto "networked alliance."

On the one hand, they level groundless accusations against Hong Kong's lawful efforts to stop violence and restore order, slandering China for "suppressing freedom;" on the other hand, they turn a blind eye to similar or even tougher law‑enforcement actions at home, exposing blatant double standards and naked political calculation.

On the issue of Lai, they play the "human‑rights card" and the "democracy card," but in fact they are playing the "geopolitics card" and the "containment card." Their essence is to treat Hong Kong as a pawn to contain China's development, a political alliance marked by obvious hostility and malicious intent.

From the riots to national security legislation, certain Western anti‑China forces have repeatedly applied a set of "special standards for China": Whatever helps China's stability and development is deliberately denigrated and smeared; and whatever helps create turmoil and tear society apart is deliberately magnified and indulged. Such practices are neither a genuine "commitment to values" nor any real concern for the well‑being of Hong Kong residents, but merely a pretext to suppress China.

Figures like Lai, cloaked in the guise of "press freedom" and under the banner of "democracy," in fact engage in subversion and acts that bring chaos to Hong Kong. His fate is the strongest warning to all those who attempt to undermine the "One country, Two systems" principle and split the country.

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