cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/47560941
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The Lai verdict represents not merely a continuation of this judicial function [of courts serving an autocratic regime] but a new low. The Court of First Instance departed from political impartiality by adopting politicized language against Lai – and by extension, Hong Kong’s entire pro-democracy movement.
The verdict claims Lai’s trial is not a “trial for his political views and he is free to hold whatever views he likes on politics.” Yet its substance overwhelmingly associates his guilt with political speeches and actions. The opening paragraphs stigmatize Lai’s character with loaded language: his “rabid hatred of the CCP” (Chinese Communist Party), his “deep resentment,” his “obsession to change CCP’s values to those of the Western worlds and counterbalance China’s influence.”
The court describes him as “poisoning the minds of his readers” through “venomous assertions” in the Apple Daily. The verdict traces Lai’s origins in Hong Kong – a story of displacement from mainland China shared by many Hong Kongers – to paint a picture of a man motivated by hatred rather than principle.
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Jimmy Lai’s conviction is not merely a personal tragedy for a man who may die in prison. It declares that in today’s Hong Kong, voices of political dissent will be criminalized, international engagement seeking accountability for the domestic government will be punished, and courts will be deployed to endorse manipulated information and legitimize repression.
Beijing and its proxies have long portrayed Lai as a criminal; now they have a judicial stamp to cite. The global community must recognize this verdict for what it is: not a milestone of justice or common law jurisprudence, but cognitive warfare by judicial means.