A correctional services van carrying Jimmy Lai Chee-ying leaves the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Dec 18, 2023, after a trial against Lai who stands accused of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security. (CALVIN NG / CHINA DAILY)

As predicted, the trial of Jimmy Lai, which began in Hong Kong on Monday, has prompted some politicians in the United States and the United Kingdom to accuse Beijing of stifling voices in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region calling for "freedom" and "democracy".

Lai, a media tycoon, is charged under the National Security Law for Hong Kong of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to put out seditious publications in the Hong Kong SAR.

It should be noted it is those people that were among those acting in collusion with Lai before he was arrested about three years ago at the climax of the social chaos that seriously threatened Hong Kong's stability, unity and development.

That they throw brickbats at Beijing over Lai being put behind bars at this moment actually does a disservice to the defendant as their remarks provide the judicial authorities with the latest evidence of Lai's collusion with external forces in a bid to turn Hong Kong into a bridgehead of the United States' China-containment strategy.

The trial of Lai is being carried out in accordance with the law with due transparency. Lai's rights and interests as a defendant in the case are strictly protected by law and effectively guaranteed throughout the whole process.

As Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news conference in Beijing on Monday, Hong Kong follows the rule of law. And those who break the law must be held accountable.

The Hong Kong law enforcement and judicial authorities have handled and are trying the case in accordance with the law.

As Wang pointed out, the US and the UK politicians making some irresponsible comments on an ongoing judicial process is against the principle of the rule of law, international law and the basic norms governing international relations. Their open endorsement of Lai is politically motivated and exposes their double standard.

These Western politicians should know that the central government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR authorities in upholding national security in accordance with the law and bringing criminals who endanger national security to justice. Attempts to smear, disturb and sabotage Hong Kong's national security law only serve to show its necessity.