The SAR government has strongly condemned the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) and anti-China foreign media, saying they tried to whitewash the crimes committed by former media tycoon Jimmy Lai.

In a statement, a government spokesperson accused the HKJA and anti-China foreign news outlets of intentionally conflating Lai's offences with press freedom.

The statement followed Monday's guilty verdict against Lai in his national security trial, with the HKJA saying the case had caused "irreversible damage to the local press long before the conviction".

The government spokesperson said the association and anti-China foreign media disregarded the lawful conviction of Lai, sought to mislead the public and whitewash his crimes, and "put on the fake cloak of the so-called democracy".

The spokesperson also said the HKJA has "no credibility, no recognition and no representation".

"In fact, the HKJA, as with other foreign anti-China media outlets, has been intentionally misleading the public by consistently and deliberately conflating the criminal acts in Lai Chee-ying's case with freedom of the press," the statement added.

The government spokesperson went on the say there was no political consideration in the court's ruling and that the case had nothing to do with press freedom.

The administration also called on the HKJA and anti-China foreign media to immediately abandon subversive acts of helping external forces with infiltration and "brainwashing" young people in Hong Kong.