HONG KONG, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- A spokesperson for the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said on Monday that the office firmly supports the sentencing decision made by the HKSAR judiciary on Jimmy Lai in accordance with the law.

Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in south China's Hong Kong. (File photo: Xinhua)

The 156-day public trial, which involved the examination of 2,220 exhibits, over 80,000 pages of case files and testimonies of 14 prosecution witnesses, had established that Lai colluded with external forces to endanger national security, the spokesperson noted. The judicial process was open, transparent, rigorous, fair and just, with Lai's legal rights protected.

The trial demonstrated that Lai was a main orchestrator and participant in anti-China activities aimed at destabilizing Hong Kong, said the spokesperson. He acted as a proxy and pawn of external anti-China forces, as well as the mastermind behind the three crimes, including conspiring to collude with external forces to endanger national security.

"The punishment fit the crime," said the spokesperson.

Certain Western politicians' vile attempt to exploit Lai's case to damage the environment and foundation of Hong Kong's rule of law is doomed to fail, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson stressed that the office will work with the HKSAR to resolutely and effectively prevent and block external interference.