Jimmy Lai was the primary planner and participant in a series of anti-China activities aimed at destabilizing Hong Kong, and has severely harmed national security, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Monday. 

Lin urged relevant countries to refrain from making irresponsible remarks on the trial after the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) sentenced Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong, to 20 years in prison.

Calling Lai "the principal mastermind and perpetrator of a series of riots," Lin said that Lai deserves harsh legal punishment.

Lai's actions severely breached the principles and bottom line of the "one country, two systems" policy, endangered national security, and damaged Hong Kong's prosperity and stability as well as the well-being of its citizens, Lin said.

Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law, the spokesperson emphasized, adding that the HKSAR's judiciary fulfills its duties and responsibilities in accordance with the law, upholds the authority of the law and safeguards national security, which is reasonable, legitimate and beyond reproach.

Lin added that the central government firmly supports Hong Kong in safeguarding national security and punishing crimes that endanger national security in accordance with the law.

Practice has proven that the better the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong, the more stable and secure Hong Kong society will be, the better the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents will be protected, and the further and steadier the practice of the "one country, two systems" policy will go, the spokesperson said.

The Jimmy Lai case is purely an internal affair of the HKSAR, said Lin. "China urges relevant countries to respect China's sovereignty and Hong Kong's legal system, refrain from making irresponsible remarks on the trial of the cases, and avoid intervening in Hong Kong's judiciary."

(With input from Xinhua)