Veteran Hong Kong politician Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee said that Jimmy Lai Chee-ying's conviction will not undermine media freedom or the vitality of free speech in Hong Kong. Instead, she believes it will help clarify the responsibilities that accompany free expression and reinforce the importance of safeguarding national security.

The city’s High Court on Monday convicted Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, on all three of the charges against him — two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.

Ip, in an interview with China Daily on Wednesday, said that unwarranted concerns have been raised about media freedom and freedom of expression in Hong Kong — concerns she described as biased and unfounded. She said that Lai’s actions had incited the 2019 social unrest, and that rioters had, in fact, suppressed the freedom of expression of many Hong Kong residents.

RELATED ARTICLES:

• HKJA blasted for ‘whitewashing’ Lai
• Jimmy Lai told eight lies in court
• HK society backs Lai’s conviction, refutes Western whitewashing
• HK blasts ‘despicable' Western smears after Jimmy Lai verdict

“A lot of people don't understand that freedom of expression is not an absolute,” Ip said. Citing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, she said that freedom of expression comes with special responsibilities, and can be limited in order to protect national security, public order, morals and health.

Ip said she believes the verdict will serve as a powerful deterrent, especially for young people who have been, or could be, misled about the true nature of freedom of expression and the critical need to safeguard national security.

She added that press freedom in Hong Kong continues to thrive. Taking the recent fire in Tai Po as an example, she said that coverage of and discussions about the incident have been “extremely widespread”, both online and offline. These discussions have focused on the urgent need for institutional reforms and have exposed underlying issues such as building management irregularities and potential collusion among owners, corporations, and contractors.

READ MORE: Ip: Lai’s guilty verdict delivered with ‘irrefutable evidence’

“Hong Kong people continue to enjoy freedom of expression, and there has been robust discussion online and offline — a testament to the vibrancy of the freedom of expression of people here,” Ip said.

She described former media tycoon Lai as “a wolf wearing a sheepskin”, posing as a champion of press freedom.

In reality, Lai has spent decades leveraging his media empire to mobilize political opposition against the Hong Kong SAR government, said Ip.

She recalled the unlawful Occupy Central movement in 2014, when Lai used one of the biggest tents outside the Legislative Council as his operating center to mobilize young people to protest.

To prevent future threats to national security and the city’s security from emerging, she called upon the public to acknowledge the significance of laws related to national security.

“We need them to protect our country and to protect our people,” Ip said.