“Mastermind” Jimmy Lai gets 20 years jail for collusion and incitement

Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years jail for treason related charges and the reaction from the international media and politicians is predictable.

They all decry Hong Kong and its judicial system as being unfair and persist in calling for his immediate release from prison.

They cite his failing health as a reason for his release. He has Type 2 diabetes, which is not uncommon in Hong Kong, including among the 10,000 inmates interned in local prisons.
In passing sentence, the three judges hearing the 156-day trial, noted that Lai was the mastermind and driving force behind these conspiracies. After considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai, as noted in the Reasons for Verdict, applying the totality principle, the Court was satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years’ imprisonment.

In a show of total transparency, the sentencing document was 47 pages long. Relevant extracts were read out in court, with full copies given to lawyers, the media and uploaded on the internet.
Six other co-defendants were also sentenced to jail time ranging from 6 years and 9 months to 10 years.

Lai was convicted last month on sedition and colluding with foreign governments to overthrow the Hong Kong government. These are serious charges anywhere in the world and a sentence of 20 years for such offences is duly warranted. Undoubtedly, he will appeal.

Stanley prison, where he is interned, has full hospital facilities staffed by qualified healthcare personnel, and round-the-clock basic health care services are provided at all penal institutions. Lai is receiving the best medical treatment available. The Correctional Services Department has a full-time chaplain who co-ordinates the planning and provision of religious services and Lai, a devout Catholic, specifically asked not to receive any religious privileges. He also asked to be kept in solitary confinement so as to not mingle with other inmates. Justices of Peace visit the prison every week to hear complaints from inmates and inspect their facilities. He has not been deprived of medical or visiting rights as suggested by his children, Sebastien and Claire, who have embarked on a campaign for his immediate release.

Lai senior has been found guilty of colluding with foreign governments, yet this is exactly what his children are doing. With millions of dollars at their disposal, they have embarked on a world-wide campaign to free their father, a basic instinct, which can only be achieved with the help of a huge bank roll. They have lobbied politicians in the US, UK and EU to apply pressure on the Hong Kong judiciary and authorities to release their father. For the Lai family, colluding with foreign forces is their own salvation.

But the judiciary is totally independent, free from pressures by human rights groups, the media, politicians and, indeed, the administration. The three judges – Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana D’Almada Remedios and Alex Lee Wan-tang – sat through gruelling evidence over a period of two years (with gaps in between) and produced a 855-page detailed document explaining the reasons behind their guilty convictions. Representatives from the UK, US and EU with a bevy of press attended the proceedings every day. The courtroom was specially configured to allow 58 seats in the public gallery and another 42 for the press in the main courtroom. Of those, 21 are allocated to local media, 14 to international outlets and seven to digital news platforms. Nothing can be more transparent than that.

This was not a “sham” trial as suggested by the Lai followers. Hong Kong is rated 6th in the Asia/Pacific region and 24th out of 143 countries worldwide by the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, two points above the US. Its independence is beyond reproach.

Yet the western media is being used to cast doubt on the judiciary’s ruling and sentencing. Lai has been painted as a father of democracy, but “democracy” was not his rallying call. His whole campaigns have centred around separatism. He was seeking Hong Kong independence, like Alberta pulling away from Canada, California from the USA and Catalonia from Spain. All have been rebutted by their federal governments. Arrest warrants have been issued for former journalist Carles Puigdemont as leader of the Spanish revolt and now in exile in Belgium with separatism charges looming over his head.

But Jimmy Lai did not flee Hong Kong after the 2019-20 bloody riots, which he fuelled through his newspaper, Apple Daily. Instead, he stayed behind to face the music and to be hailed a martyr to the cause. It is because of this carefully orchestrated action that he got to the support of world leaders who mistakenly thought he was advocating democracy. They were fooled by a billionaire and his family into thinking that by giving him support, they were providing freedom to the people of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people have all the freedoms they want and can even criticize the government for maladministration without fear of persecution.

Democracy was never an issue. Hong Kong has a fully elected legislature, its president is elected by its members, and the Chief Executive is elected by a 1500-strong election committee – 1000 more than the US. Hong Kong has a democracy and its Basic Law (mini constitution) allows for the Chief Executive to be elected by universal suffrage sometime in the future.

Mark Pinkstone

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

Hong Kong’s ambition to introduce its first five-year development plan is long overdue and when introduced it will help the city move forward in an organized pace.

China has thrived on five-year plans since the days of the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai who sought to implement a socialist transformation of China.

China’s First Five-Year Plan was deeply influenced by Soviet methodologies and assistance from Soviet planners.   Industrial development was the primary goal.   With Soviet assistance in the form of both funds and experts, China began to develop industries from scratch. Consistent with the focus on developing industry, northeast China was the region which received the greatest share of state funds during the First Plan.

Planning for its 15th plan started in December and will be unveiled next month during the National People’s Congress (NPC), which will be followed by the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). These “Two Sessions” meetings are traditionally held in March each year. It is understood President Xi Jinping personally took the lead in drafting the plan.

A delegation of Hong Kong deputies will attend to see how Hong Kong’s proposed five-year plan can dovetail with that of the mainland.

Five-Year Plans continue to be a central means of organizing policy in China, especially in the areas of environmental protection, education, and industrial policy.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive (CE) John Lee told local media this week that he would lead an interdepartmental task force to align Hong Kong policies with the mainland’s 15th five-year plan, which will guide China’s development from 2026 to 2030.

Once the mainland plans are released, Lee’s task force will align themselves with the specifics including any parts concerning Hong Kong.

A national plan, unveiled last October, pledged to support Hong Kong in becoming a high-end talent hub and consolidate and enhance the city’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade hub.

It also emphasized stronger cooperation between Hong Kong and the mainland in areas such as the economy, trade, science and technology, and culture.

Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, was quoted in the local press that the initiative marked a more proactive approach in integrating Hong Kong into national development, adding that the plan represented a shift away from positive non-interventionism towards greater government involvement in economic development.

And Zhang Changwei, deputy commissioner of the foreign ministry’s office in Hong Kong, told the press on Monday that the 15th five-year plan proposed to expand high-level opening up and accelerate the development of foreign-related legal systems and capabilities.

Zhang said that the rule of law had become an important arena in international rivalry, underscoring the urgent need for top-tier talent who were highly professional, well-versed in international rules and proficient in foreign-related legal affairs.

The mainland’s 5-year plans are specific driven, in most cases ensuring environment protection. China’s success in lifting its entire population out of poverty and providing internet conductivity throughout the nation can be attributed to its 5-year plan policy.

Neighbouring Macau introduced its 5-year plan policy in 2016 and has not looked back. It is time for Hong Kong to catchup, especially now with so many projects on the back burner.

These projects include the massive Northern Metropolis development, which will accommodate about 2.5 million residents and about 650,000 jobs, numerous new hospitals, housing development and new road and rail services to link them all together.

These are massive projects and a five-year plan is necessary to monitor their progress. Hong Kong has a fantastic future to look forward to, and it is absolutely necessary for it to devise its own 5-year development plan to ensure all goes smoothly and dovetail into the mainland’s 5-year plan.