HONG KONG, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s leader said on Tuesday he raised the conviction of pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai in a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, one day after the media mogul was found guilty of collusion with foreign forces in a landmark national security trial.
John Lee did not give details on how Xi responded, but said Xi encouraged Hong Kong authorities to continue in their efforts to safeguard national security.
Lee added that some foreign media outlets had “misled” the public in their reporting of the Lai conviction, and obscured what he said were Lai’s acts as an agent of foreign forces who had undermined national security.
While 78-year-old Lai’s supporters see him as a freedom fighter, Beijing regards him as a mastermind of pro-democracy protests and a conspirator advocating for U.S. sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland.
(Reporting by James Pomfret and Jessie Pang; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
