Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, ringleader of anti-China radicals in Hong Kong, was released on bail on August 12, about 40 hours after he was arrested on suspicion of crimes including breaching the law on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and conspiracy to commit fraud.

Lai’s bail was set at HK$300,000 (US$38,461), plus a HK$200,000 surety. His assets worth HK$50 million were frozen. In addition, Lai and other suspects who were released under investigation must report to the police in early September.

According to incomplete statistics, Lai, 72, has already committed 5 criminal cases and is facing seven charges including criminal intimidation and organization and participation in illegal assembly.

Acting as aproxy of external forces, Lai betrays Hong Kong but claims that he loves the city. Relying on his media company, he has long been attacking the HKSAR and the rule of law in the city, funding local extremist organizations with secret bank accounts, and contacting localist groups to collude with foreign forces, in an attempt to wage a Hong Kong version of the “color revolution.”

Any behavior that endangers national security will be severely punished in accordance with the law on safeguarding national security in the HKSAR. This is what Lai and others participating in anti-China activities should have expected from the very beginning.

As legal experts put it, the arrest of anti-China radical Lai by the Hong Kong police in accordance with the law is a normal law enforcement action and targeted legal punishment on him is an important part to eliminate the root causes that trigger problems in Hong Kong.

Lai’s release on bail is a just move to let him be eventually punished by law. Due to the rule of law in Hong Kong, meticulous and precise investigations and evidence collection are required to handle cases involving national security.

Hong Kong police can detain suspects for no more than 48 hours before sending them to the Magistrates’ Courts for interrogation. However, it is difficult for the police to complete accurate investigations and evidence collection in just two days because of Lai’s numerous crimes of colluding with external forces to disrupt Hong Kong. After obtaining detailed evidence, the police can re-arrest Lai and other suspects and prosecute them.

Laws and regulations must be enforced and any illegal acts must be prosecuted. The central government’s office for safeguarding national security in the HKSAR expressed strong support for the arrests of Lai and others by the Hong Kong police in accordance with the law.

The police’s arrests of anti-China radicals in accordance with the law on safeguarding national security in the HKSAR and the city’s local laws is a totally natural and justified move that brook no interference by foreign forces.

Justice shall never be absent. Time is running out for anti-China radicals including Lai to be punished as a result of strict law enforcement by the Hong Kong police. History and reality have repeatedly proved that traitors will not end up well.