HONG KONG, May 1 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on Friday strongly condemned attempts made by an anti-China organization and foreign media to sugarcoat the criminal acts of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying by releasing a so-called press freedom index and presenting him with a so-called "award."

The despicable attacks and smearing campaign against the HKSAR totally disregarded the rule of law and twisted the facts, said a spokesperson for the HKSAR government.

As guaranteed by the HKSAR Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance, all defendants charged with a criminal offence shall have the right to a fair trial by the Judiciary exercising independent judicial power, said the spokesperson.

In Lai's case, the spokesperson noted, the court had conducted 156 days of public hearings and reviewed 2,220 pieces of evidence. This showed that Lai and other defendants were found guilty only after a fair trial, said the spokesperson.

Some media outlets, as well as organizations that claim to represent journalists, have conflated the criminal acts in Lai's case with freedom of the press with the purpose of misleading the public and vilifying the HKSAR, said the spokesperson.

In fact, Lai's case has nothing to do with freedom of the press at all. Over the years, the defendants had been using journalism as a guise to commit acts that brought harm to the HKSAR and undermined national security, the spokesperson noted.

Since the implementation of the national security law in Hong Kong and the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the media landscape in Hong Kong has remained vibrant, said the spokesperson, urging all sides to stop any baseless malicious attacks.

Later Friday, a spokesperson for the Legislative Council (LegCo) of the HKSAR also denounced these attempts to whitewash Lai's criminal acts.

The spokesperson underscored that Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison based on hard evidence detailed in the 855-page verdict available to the public. The verdict, delivered by the court free from any interference, also made clear that Lai was not on trial for his political views or beliefs.

The LegCo will continue to support the HKSAR government in upholding the rule of law, said the spokesperson. ■