‘Despicable’: Hong Kong slams Western ‘smears’ as US calls for Jimmy Lai’s release

A political row over former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has intensified after his guilty verdict, with the Hong Kong government condemning what it called “despicable political manipulations” and the United States calling for his release. Beijing’s top office overseeing city affairs also published a strongly worded commentary on Tuesday, criticising Lai for using “two systems” to oppose “one country” and branding him a “national criminal who will forever be nailed to the pillar of historical...