A severe punishment for former media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for his grave offenses is not only the will of the people but also a requirement of the rule of law, a lawmaker of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said Sunday.

Ray Wong Wing-wai, a lawmaker from the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong, said Lai was the core “mastermind” behind a series of anti-China activities aimed at destabilizing Hong Kong.  

“Having long acted as an agent and pawn for anti-China forces, his crimes are numerous. Punishing him severely in accordance with the law is not only the will of the people but also a requirement of the rule of law,” Wong said in a post on his official Facebook page.

The High Court is set to sentence Lai, the founder of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, on Monday after finding him guilty in December of violating the National Security Law for Hong Kong, including on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.

“Looking back, Jimmy Lai has been present in every turbulent event that impacted Hong Kong’s social order—from the illegal "Occupy Central" movement to the violent riots of 2019,” Wong said.

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He said Lai manipulated the media to continuously incite social confrontation and spread hatred against the country, while openly colluding with foreign powers, traveling overseas to lobby politicians to impose "sanctions" on Hong Kong in an attempt to use external forces to "undermine the city's stability and curb China’s development.” 

“Such acts of internal and external collusion to endanger national security have seriously trampled on the red line of the rule of law, causing immeasurable damage to Hong Kong’s economy, people’s livelihoods, and social order," Wong said. "His grave offenses must be met with severe legal punishment."

Wong noted that the Lai’s trial and conviction are showed the NSL’s effective implementation while demonstrating the fairness and dignity of Hong Kong's judiciary.

The case underwent 156 days of public hearings, during which the court examined over 2,220 exhibits and more than 80,000 pages of documents, while the written judgment reached 855 pages, he said.

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“Throughout the process, the court strictly adhered to legal principles such as ‘legality of crimes and punishments’ and the ‘presumption of innocence,’ fully protecting the defendant's legal rights. This is a clear practice of Hong Kong’s spirit of the rule of law,” he added.

Wong said the Hong Kong SAR government’s exercise of judicial power in accordance with the NSL and other laws to combat acts endangering national security is a legitimate and justified action that brooks no interference from external forces.

“Security is the prerequisite for development…Under the protection of the HKNSL, Hong Kong has achieved a major transition from chaos to order,” he said.

“Society has returned to the right track, and Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping, and trade center has become more secure, consistently being ranked as the world’s freest economy.”

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Wong said any attempt to interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs or to undermine the "one country, two systems" principle goes against the tide of history and the fundamental interests of all Hong Kong residents, and is destined to fail.

“The lawful punishment of Jimmy Lai is not only a just verdict for his crimes but also a stern warning to all elements attempting to destabilize Hong Kong and a powerful countermeasure against external interference,” he said.