Hong Kong court jails media tycoon Jimmy Lai for 20 yrs under security law

A Hong Kong court sentenced media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in jail for 'colluding' with foreign forces and sedition, in the most high-profile case under national security law

A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, the harshest punishment so far under the Beijing-imposed national security law. Lai has become one of the most prominent faces of the law’s sweeping crackdown on dissent, Bloomberg reported.

 

A panel of three judges, chosen by the government, ordered the 78-year-old to serve the sentence after convicting him of conspiring to collude with foreign forces. The court also upheld a separate sedition conviction.

 

What charges was Jimmy Lai convicted of?

 

Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, was convicted in December after a lengthy trial that began in 2023 and lasted more than 150 days. Judges described him as the key figure behind efforts to lobby foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China, with the aim of seeking the “downfall” of the ruling Communist Party.

 

 

Lai has denied all allegations.

 

His lawyers had asked the court to show leniency, pointing to his age and worsening health. Lai has been in custody for nearly five years, much of it in solitary confinement, since his arrest in 2020. His detention followed the introduction of the National Security Law after mass pro-democracy protests rocked Hong Kong.

 

Lai’s life story is closely tied to Hong Kong’s rise. He arrived in the city as a 12-year-old from mainland China and later built a successful business in textiles. In 1995, he founded Apple Daily, which became a vocal supporter of the pro-democracy movement and a sharp critic of Beijing.

 

The newspaper regularly backed protests calling for greater public participation in elections.   

 

Pressure from the US, UK

 

US President Donald Trump had earlier appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping for Lai’s release. Trump is expected to visit Beijing in April.

 

US ambassador to China, David Perdue, described the issue as an “ongoing conversation” between the two leaders in an interview with Bloomberg Television last month.

 

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also raised Lai’s case during his high-profile visit to Beijing in January. While seeking to reset relations with China, Starmer said he had a “respectful” discussion about Lai’s imprisonment, Bloomberg reported.

 

Several other countries have condemned Lai’s prosecution, calling it politically driven. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited Beijing last month in a bid to repair ties and announced a “new strategic partnership” with China, while also urging Lai’s release. 

 

Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly rejected foreign criticism. They insist the case was handled according to the law and say Lai received a fair trial, warning against outside interference.

 

Sentence eclipses earlier convictions

 

The punishment goes beyond the 10-year sentence earlier handed to activist Benny Tai. It has also revived comparisons between Lai and the late Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, who was jailed for 11 years on charges of subversion for calling for democratic reforms in China. Liu later died of cancer in a Chinese hospital in 2017, shortly after being released on medical parole.