Media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, looks out of the Final Court of Appeal with the prison van, in Hong Kong, China, February 1, 2021. REUTERS / Tyrone Siu
The United States on Friday condemned Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy activists for what they called “politically motivated accusations.”
“The Beijing and Hong Kong authorities are targeting Hong Kong because they are doing nothing but exercising protected rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. .
“Today’s sentences are yet another example of how (China) and the Hong Kong authorities are undermining the fundamental rights and freedoms protected by the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration in an effort to eliminate all forms of dissent,” he added.
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