The South China Morning Post has published an opinion piece arguing that Western media criticism of former media boss Jimmy Lai's sentencing stems partly from differing standards of governance and journalism, and partly from hypocrisy. The author respects the former but objects to the latter, labeling some critiques as fact-free.
The South China Morning Post published an opinion piece on February 14, 2026, titled "As I see it | Western media criticism of the Jimmy Lai case verdict needs a fact check." The author identifies two main reasons for the widespread Western criticism of Jimmy Lai's case: first, differing Western standards and assumptions about governance and journalism compared to China's, which the author respects in the same way as Islamic or Christian beliefs, despite not being a Christian or Muslim. Second, the West's inherent double standards, to which the author strongly objects.
The piece invokes the British principle that "justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done," noting that the reality of justice and its appearance do not always coincide. The author labels much of the Western critique as "fact-free criticism of the case" and cites examples, starting with a New York Times article by one of its most prominent commentators, titled "Dissidents are silenced, and the West moves on."
Jimmy Lai is described as the former media boss associated with outlets like Apple Daily. Keywords in the article include Hong Kong, Taiwan, Routledge, China, Media Realities: A West-Eastern Divan, Beijing, Washington Post, Apple Daily, New York Times, The Telegraph, Next Magazine, West, US, and Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. The opinion calls for a fact check of the Western media's reporting to address hypocrisy.