TELLING LIES TO THE PRESS
What Lam had said at his press conference has been met with astonishment by many of the major players.
His girlfriend Hu, 37, said Lam had "brainwashed" her into sending books by courier, but he had never told her it was illegal. She also repudiated Lam's claim that he had been forced to sign a document waiving his right to a lawyer or speak with members of his family.
According to Hu, they were both told of their right to contact family and hire lawyers but gave up the right because they did not want their families to know they were having an affair, a statement confirmed by police.
Video records provided by Ningbo police show that Lam was well treated during his stay in the mainland. Police sent him fruit, took his blood pressure every day and arranged for him to have his hair cut.
Chen Weiqing, curator of a library in Guangdong who gave Lam a job, was angered and shocked upon hearing Lam's "lies."
"Lam claims he was confined in Shaoguan. That is totally inconsistent with the facts," said Chen. On the contrary, Chen offered him a job to show sympathy given his age. Everyone at the library can attest that during his stay at in Shaoguan he was in good shape and even gained weight, said Chen, adding they traveled together to local resort and had many pleasant chats.
"As a facility open to the public, Lam came and went as he pleased, working and reading. How can he claim that he was not free? Is the library a prison?" said Chen.
"In my mind Hong Kong is a society championing rule of law, but why has it allowed Lam to tell overt lies to the world?" asked Chen, believing that Lam had been coerced into doing so.
According to the police, by declaring his intention not to return to the mainland, Lam has violated the terms of his bail. Ningbo police urged Lam to return to the mainland, otherwise they will be forced to take other legal measures.
"ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS" REMAINS INTACT
"The Lam Wing-kee case had been handled in accordance with the law from the beginning to the end. The process respected the HK judicial system, strictly adhered to the stipulations of 'one country, two systems,' and there was no so-called 'cross-border law enforcement' nor tracking or control of the suspect," said a Ningbo police statement.
Law professor Song Xiaozhuang from Shenzhen University believes mainland police have jurisdiction over Lam's case, as the acts and consequences of his crime occurred in the mainland. Moreover, the freedom of speech claimed by Lam should also be enjoyed within a legal framework, therefore, mainland police have not violated the "one country, two systems" policy.
Song suggested mainland and Hong Kong establishing a mutual judicial assistance mechanism on criminal cases between, which was also echoed by Liu Cheng, associate law professor with Sun Yat-sen University.
Liu insists that the judicial assistance agreement should be based on the "one country" principle.
"When people stress 'two systems,' they often neglect the 'one country' aspect of the premise," said Liu. "Hong Kong people are, of course, Chinese people. 'One country' is the bottom line of the agreement, under which authorities will only consider the facts of a criminal case rather than whether the suspect is located in Hong Kong or the mainland."
