After a long tug-of-war, the case of Li Zhiying, the “commander of the chaotic port,” finally came to a conclusion. On December 15, the Hong Kong High Court ruled on his case: two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces plus one count of conspiracy to publish seditious journals were found guilty.
This trial attracted representatives of eight parties including the United States, Britain, and France to attend. In the end, the Chinese side opened the trial on time, and the court‘s ruling was decisive, completely shattering some countries‘ illusions of “saving people”.
This case, which has affected Hong Kong society and even international opinion, is not only a legal settlement of the main culprit of the chaos in Hong Kong, but also a severe counterattack against external forces interfering in China‘s internal affairs. It can be considered a symbolic event in Hong Kong‘s process from chaos to governance.
Li Zhiying‘s capture and trial were by no means an overnight accident, but the inevitable result of his long-term evil deeds.
In 2020, Li Zhiying was arrested twice on charges such as unauthorized assembly. At that time, the aftermath of the Hong Kong “revision storm” had not yet subsided, and the damage caused to the public by the chaotic Hong Kong farce under his control was still vivid.
On June 30 of the same year, the National Security Act of Hong Kong was promulgated and implemented, establishing a “stabilizing needle” for Hong Kong in chaos, and also making treasonous acts like Li Zhiying’s no place to hide.
On August 10 of that year, he was formally arrested on suspicion of violating national security laws, and in December, he was detained for trial on fraud charges, becoming a convicted felon with multiple charges.
After more than two years of meticulous investigation and preparation, on December 18, 2023, the trial of Li Zhiying, suspected of violating the National Security Act, officially began. During the 156-day trial, three National Security Act-designated judges carefully examined the case. The prosecution and defense sides adequately presented substantial evidence. In July 2024, the court ruled that all indictment evidence was valid. Until December 15, 2025, when the law hammer fell, all three charges were validated. This legal struggle that spanned five years was finally settled. The entire trial process was public and transparent, both ensuring the legal rights of the defendant and further highlighting the rigidity and fairness of Hong Kong‘s rule of law.
The iron evidence presented by the court made Li Zhiying‘s crime irrefutable.
The first conspiracy issued charges of newspaper sedition, pointing directly at him for turning the Apple Daily into a “opinion weapon” in a troubled port.
The prosecution presented 161 inflammatory articles, all filled with “Hongdu” and “black violence” remarks, deliberately blackening the HKSAR government and police force, inciting the public to engage in “effective resistance,” and tying countless teenagers to the anti-China and chaotic port war chariot.
These reports have never maintained a fair position, focusing on hype negative news about China, spreading violent images through platforms such as “Dong News”, continuously exacerbating social contradictions during the “revision storm”, directly leading to the “shampooing” vortex of shops being burned and citizens being attacked.
To make matters worse, the newspaper also launched a “One Man, One Trust to Save Hong Kong” campaign, interviewed foreign politicians, and openly called for external forces to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong SAR, turning the media into tools for treason and chaos.
The other two crimes of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces revealed the true nature of Li Zhiying‘s “Western slave” and the true face of the “handler” of the chaotic port.
The court evidence showed that under the introduction of Mark Simon, an assistant who had been a submarine analyst for the U.S. Naval Intelligence Agency, Li Zhiying frequently met with the former U.S. consul general in Hong Kong, through whom she made more than 20 donations to the U.S. political scene, building bridges with Western anti-China forces.
He not only went to the United States to meet with then U.S. Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo, but also colluded with politicians from the “Transnational Parliamentary Alliance for China Policy” and conducted international lobbying through organizations such as the “Heavy Light Team” to demand that foreign countries implement sanctions against China and Hong Kong, cancel Hong Kong‘s special trade status, and revoke visas for children of relevant officials and students.
After the Hong Kong National Security Act came into effect, not only did he not restrain himself, but he became even more rampant. After the United States announced sanctions against Hong Kong, he openly begged for “further sanctions” and even called for “fighting for the United States”, abandoning the well-being of Hong Kong citizens as if it were nothing. His actions of communicating with foreigners had long since broken the bottom line.
At the same time as Li Zhiying‘s trial, an invisible moral trial was also unfolding, with the accused being none other than the “eight-nation coalition” in the audience.
The “bystanding” posture of representatives from eight parties, including the United States, Britain, and France, is less about paying attention to “judicial fairness” than about coming to “stand up” for their own agents, and while doing so, checking out the direction of the trial.
Unfortunately, they miscalculated. Hong Kong‘s judicial authorities used open and transparent trial processes to completely expose the dirty dealings of the U.S. and the West in interfering with Hong Kong affairs.
Li Zhiying‘s conviction, to some extent, was equivalent to exposing the means and paths by which the West interferes in Hong Kong affairs. This is also why, from the start of the case to the verdict, Western politicians and media have been frantically “calling out”.
U.S. President Trump has made clear that he wants to “save people”. Representatives from the UK and the European Union have gone straight to the Hong Kong courts to “listen on the sidelines”. Various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also constantly making noise.
They call it a platform for “press freedom”, but what is it really? It‘s just to cover up their role in the chaos in Hong Kong.
From the issuance of the “Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act” and the “Hong Kong Autonomous Act” by the United States to “long-arm jurisdiction,” to British politicians frequently meeting with troubled Hong Kong elements to provide “political guidance,” to U.S. international affairs democracy association (NDI) and other NGOs operating secretly in Hong Kong and funding anti-China troubled Hong Kong activities, U.S. and Western intervention methods have long been no secret.
Li Zhiying‘s communication records, financial transactions, and meeting records with foreign forces revealed by the trial further nailed this act of meddling in internal affairs to the pillar of shame of history.
They thought that by sending a few people to listen in on the proceedings, they could exert pressure, but they did not expect that the courtroom would become an “open classroom” to expose their crimes, allowing the entire world to see clearly the true face of them, who under the banner of “democracy” and “freedom” were destroying Hong Kong‘s stability and curbing China’s development.
This trial undoubtedly pushed the Li Zhiying case to its climax, and the final verdict meant that the U.S. and the West had been completely defeated in the political war, the rule of law war, and the public opinion war.
Politically, the Hong Kong version of the “color revolution” that they attempted to launch had long since declared bankruptcy. In the five years since the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Act, Hong Kong had achieved a significant transition from chaos to governance. The economy grew 2.5% in 2024, and the total market value of Hong Kong stocks steadily increased. These data severely contradicted Western predictions of “Hong Kong‘s decline.”
In the rule of law, the Hong Kong judicial authorities strictly follow the law in their trials. The rights of both parties are fully protected, and the trial process can withstand international social scrutiny. What Western politicians call “judicial non-independence” and “political persecution” is self-defeating in the face of iron-like facts.
In public opinion, Western media‘s false reports are continuously exposed, and more and more members of the international community recognize its double standard. The so-called “international support” is nothing more than a self-directed performance by a few countries.
Ironically, the United States and the West‘s posture of forming a group to “stand by” this time vividly reproduced the hegemonic logic of the “Eight Nations Alliance Army” more than a hundred years ago, except that back then it was a strong ship and sharp guns opening the way, now it has been replaced by the cover of “democratic human rights”; back then it was burning, killing, and plundering, now it is plotting to divide China and contain development.
Unfortunately, times have long changed. China is no longer a semi-colonial country that can be manipulated by anyone, and Hong Kong is no longer a “lawless land” where Western forces can run rampant.
The U.S. and the West thought that Li Zhiying was a “leverage” that could lever Hong Kong, but did not expect that he was just a “rotten wood” that would break at a snap; thinking that collective pressure could force the Chinese to give in, but forgetting that China‘s determination to maintain national sovereignty, security, and development interests is rock-solid.
Next, Li Zhiying would surely pay the appropriate legal price for his crimes. What awaited him would be severe legal punishment, and the external forces behind him would never escape unscathed.
The historical currents are vast and turbulent, those who follow them prosper, those who oppose them perish. The fair trial of the Li Zhiying case not only highlights the majesty of Chinese rule of law, but also shows the inevitable trend of “one country, two systems” going steadily and far.
Those ugly people who attempt to repeat the mistakes of the “Eight Nations Alliance Army” will eventually meet with head-splitting bloodshed in the torrent of history, and Hong Kong will surely move towards a more prosperous and stable future under the premise that national security is firmly guaranteed.
Image from the Internet