Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai could face life in prison after he was found guilty of two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and a third count of sedition.
The British citizen founded and ran the popular and pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, which was one of China’s only media outlets that was critical of Beijing. Lai was found guilty on Monday of breaching a national security law, imposed on Hong Kong by the government in mainland China in 2020.
The Apple Daily publisher, aged 78, was first detained in 2020 and has spent more than 1,800 days in jail. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him during the trial which began in December 2023.
Lai, a self-made millionaire, refused to be silent after Hong Kong’s mass protests in 2019, and continued to warn about the risks posed by Chinese authoritarianism. The conviction relates to Mr Lai’s work as an editor and publisher, and his advocacy for democracy and the rule of law in the former British colony.
Lai has spent almost five years in arbitrary detention, and his family have spoken about how their elderly father is subjected to. solitary confinement, with barely any access to natural light.
Mr Lai’s Irish lawyer, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, of Doughty Street Chambers in London, said in a statement:
“Today’s verdict is a stain on a once enviable Hong Kong legal system. A brave, brilliant 78-year-old man has been convicted in this vindictive and grossly unfair verdict, condemned for nothing more than being a successful publisher and journalist and a dedicated peaceful pro-democracy campaigner.
“After five long years of imprisonment which violates international law, it is time to end this sham process and release Mr Lai. If China fails to release him immediately and unconditionally, the international community must hold China to account.”
The lawyer previously said that Mr Lai was behind bars for “the conspiracy to commit journalism.”
Governments around the world have been critical of Lai’s treatment, including Britain, New Zealand and Taiwan. The UK’s Foreign Office today condemned the “politically motivated” prosecution of Lai, which it said had resulted in a guilty verdict.
“Jimmy Lai has been targeted by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. Beijing’s national security law was imposed on Hong Kong to silence China’s critics. The UK has repeatedly called for the National Security Law to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it.
“We continue to call for Mr Lai’s immediate release, for all necessary treatment and for full access to independent medical professionals,” it said in a statement on behalf of Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper.
The Taiwanese government, meanwhile, accused China of “exploiting the draconian national security legislation to stifle freedom of speech”.
“This ruling serves as a declaration to the world that Hong Kong’s freedoms, democracy, and judicial independence have been systematically eroded,” it said.
Mr Lai’s son Sebastian, today appealed to the British government to save his father’s life “before it is too late” as he thanked President Donald Trump for his “ongoing support.”
Mr Trump has shown his support for the campaigner during the high-profile security case, raising the case during his bilateral meeting with President Xi of China last week to press for Mr Lai’s release.
“I am so incredibly grateful that the President discussed my father’s case in his meeting with President Xi. Knowing President Trump’s reputation as the Liberator in Chief, I pray that his continued support and commitment will convince President Xi to free my father before it is too late,” said Sebastian Lai.
Sebastian and other members of his family have expressed grave concern for their father and the risk to his life in the UK, pointing to his deteriorating health.
Mr Lai’s daughter Claire Lai, recently spoke about her father’s plight in prison.
She spoke about how her father had turned 78 on 8th December, and described how Lai, who is a Catholic convert, has recognised that there “has been a higher force guiding him all along […] and later on, he understood that to be God.”
“My father is submitting himself to the will of our Lord,” said Lai. “He wants to get closer to our Lord in his own suffering, and be able to devote it to him.”
Speaking about her father’s worsening physical condition, she said that his nails turned “almost purple, grey and greenish before they fell off and his teeth are getting rotten.” She expressed fears that he is at risk of dying from complications from diabetes and extreme weight loss.
“He has lost a very, very significant amount of weight. In less than a year, he lost 10 kg. He has infections that last for months in spite of antibiotics. His limbs get very swollen and red, and become agonisingly painful,” she said. “Sometimes he can’t stand.
“There are times, when even from a distance, you can tell that he is pale and he is shivering. He’s diabetic and he has heart issues. He had a perfectly healthy heart before he went to prison, but since, he has experienced heart palpitations […] he has failing eyesight and failing hearing, and has experienced significant hearing loss since he’s been in prison.”
Reports from inside the courtroom said that Mr Lai “appeared calm,” wearing glasses, a blazer, and a light green sweater.
At one point, he raised a hand and “smiled at his wife” and one of his sons who were sitting alongside Cardinal Zen, who accompanied the family to court. CNN reports that there was “complete silence in the court” as the verdict was read aloud.
Irish businessman Declan Ganley, who has been a long-term supporter of Mr Lai, said on X: “Jimmy is Communist China’s number one political prisoner and the story of the lengths they have gone to in their effort to stop him, and Hong Kong’s democracy movement, will yet be told.”
Human Rights Watch said Lai’s conviction after years spent in solitary confinement was “cruel and a travesty of justice.”
“The Chinese government’s mistreatment of Jimmy Lai aims to silence everyone who dares to criticise the Communist Party,” it said, adding: “In the face of the farce of Jimmy Lai’s case, governments should pressure the authorities to withdraw the case and release him immediately.
“The Chinese and Hong Kong governments should pay the price for the deliberate measures to stifle the Hong Kong press.”
Lai’s conviction was welcomed by Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, who claimed that Lai’s actions had “damaged the country’s interests and the welfare of Hong Kongers”.
Meanwhile, Beijing said the verdict should sent a “clear message” to the world.