A court in the former British colony on Tuesday jailed all 45 defendants convicted of subversion in the city's largest national security trial, with "mastermind" Benny Tai receiving the longest term of 10 years.
The US consulate in Hong Kong said Washington "strongly condemns" the sentencing, while Australia said it was "gravely concerned" about the fate of a dual citizen sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
The self-ruled island of Taiwan -- which Beijing claims as its own -- and several human rights groups also issued condemnations.
A spokesperson for Beijing's foreign ministry said the criticism "seriously desecrates and tramples on the spirit of the rule of law".
"Some individual Western nations ignore the fact that they use relevant judicial procedures to uphold their own national security, while also arbitrarily condemning Hong Kong courts that implement the National Security Law", Lin Jian said at a regular press briefing.
"China's central government... steadfastly opposes some Western countries taking individual judicial cases as a pretext to interfere in China's internal affairs, and to smear and undermine the rule of law in Hong Kong," Lin said.
"Nobody may invoke democracy as a pretext to engage in illegal activities and attempt to evade legal sanction," he added.
Global lawmakers call for Hong Kong to free Jimmy Lai
London (AFP) Nov 19, 2024 -
Dozens of lawmakers from across the world called Tuesday for the immediate and unconditional release of pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, before he is due to give evidence in his collusion trial in Hong Kong.
Parliamentarians and foreign affairs experts from at least 22 countries and the European Parliament signed an open letter, expressing concern about the 76-year-old media tycoon's incarceration.
"His health is deteriorating. He has been held in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison in Hong Kong for almost four years. This is inhumane," they wrote, calling the charges against him "trumped up".
The letter's release came on the same day a Hong Kong court jailed all 45 defendants convicted in the city's largest trial under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
The separate charges against Lai, who founded the now-shuttered popular tabloid Apple Daily, revolve around the newspaper's publications, which supported the pro-democracy protests and criticised Beijing's leadership.
Lai, who is a British citizen, denies two counts of "conspiracy to collusion" and one count of "conspiracy to publish seditious publications".
But the parliamentarians said his trial was "tainted with unfairness", involving "hand-picked judges" and evidence allegedly obtained by torture.
"On the eve of the recommencement of his trial, we urgently demand Jimmy Lai's immediate and unconditional release," they added, warning China that "the world is watching as the rule of law, media freedom and human rights in Hong Kong are eroded and undermined".
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised Lai's case with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil on Monday.
Some 30 signatories were from the UK, which handed back sovereignty of Hong Kong to China in 1997 but which has been increasingly critical of the authorities in the territory for its crackdown on political dissent.
Taiwan condemns China for jailing Hong Kong activists, says 'democracy is not a crime'
Taipei (AFP) Nov 19, 2024 -
Taiwan condemned China over the jailing of 45 Hong Kong activists on Tuesday, saying "democracy is not a crime".
Presidential office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said "democracy is not a crime" and "strongly condemned the Chinese government's use of judicial measures and unfair procedures to suppress the political participation and freedom of speech of Hong Kong's pro-democracy activists", according to a statement.
International condemnation of the jailings has been swift, with the United States, Australia and rights groups slamming the sentencing as evidence of the erosion of political freedoms in the city since Beijing imposed a security law in 2020.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed over to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" governance model, which guaranteed key freedoms to Hong Kongers and a high degree of autonomy.
Tuesday's sentencing "not only breaks the promises of '50 years unchanged' and 'high degree of autonomy', but also further proves that unworkability of 'one country, two systems'," Kuo said in the statement -- a reference to the 50-year transitionary governance model after the handover.
"The people of Taiwan and Hong Kong share a common pursuit of freedom and democracy," she said.
China claims Taiwan as part of its own territory and has consistently vowed to bring about "unification".
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