A man passes by the East Wing Forecourt (the Forecourt) of the Central Government Offices (CGO), Tamar, Hong Kong, on Dec 28, 2017.  (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG –The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Thursday firmly rejected and strongly disapproved of the misleading and slanderous remarks jointly made by 10 foreign Catholic leaders on the law enforcement actions and legal proceedings against former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying.

In a statement, the HKSAR government said the remarks of the Catholic leaders, who also called for Lai’s immediate and unconditional release, were an inappropriate interference in the SAR's internal affairs and in its courts' independent exercise of judicial power.

The spokesman said that Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law, with all law enforcement actions based on evidence and have nothing to do with a suspect's profession, political beliefs or background

“Any person, regardless of his or her identity, who attempts to interfere with the judicial proceedings in the HKSAR in order to procure a defendant's evasion of the criminal justice process, is blatantly undermining the rule of law of the HKSAR,” a government spokesman was quoted as saying in the statement.

“The HKSAR government strongly urges the foreign Catholic leaders to discern facts from fallacies, and immediately stop interfering in the HKSAR's internal affairs and the HKSAR courts' independent exercise of judicial power," he added.

The spokesman said that Hong Kong is a society underpinned by the rule of law, with all law enforcement actions based on evidence and have nothing to do with a suspect's profession, political beliefs or background.

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“It would be totally contrary to the rule of law for someone to suggest that certain groups of people could enjoy privileges and break the law without getting arrested or bearing legal responsibilities due to their capacity,” the spokesman said.

“Everyone, including journalists, should abide by the law.”

He said the judiciary of the HKSAR exercises judicial power independently and everyone charged with a criminal offense has the right to a fair hearing, with the courts deciding cases strictly in accordance with the evidence and all applicable laws.

“In all the cases involving Lai Chee-ying, he had fully exercised his right to defend himself and the right to appeal, and the verdicts and sentences, if any, were given by the courts exercising judicial power independently, based on applicable laws, facts and evidence after open trials and hearings,” the spokesman said.

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“Also, the detailed reasons for sentence are contained in the publicly available judgment."

The spokesman stressed that the SAR will continue to effectively prevent, suppress and punish acts and activities that endanger national security and also to safeguard the rights and freedoms enjoyed by Hong Kong residents.