Pro-democracy campaigner and British citizen Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of three national security offences in Hong Kong. The 78-year-old media tycoon was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a sweeping national security law following mass pro-democracy protests.
Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was convicted of two counts of collusion with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious material.
Judges said the evidence showed he was the “mastermind” behind efforts to undermine China’s government and Communist Party. He could face a sentence of up to life imprisonment, with sentencing to follow.
Observers described Lai as thin and visibly affected as he heard the verdict, while his family watched from court. He has already spent more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement, and his family say his health has severely deteriorated.
International governments and rights groups have condemned the case as politically motivated and emblematic of Hong Kong’s shrinking freedoms. British officials have called for Lai’s immediate release, citing violations of free expression and the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
The verdict is widely seen as a powerful symbol of the crackdown on press freedom, free speech, and judicial independence in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai. File Photo: Kelly Ho/Hong Kong Free Press
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE: If you would like to support our independent journalism at Good Morning World, please subscribe to our daily newsletter. It’s FREE and appears 7 mornings a week. As we prepare to install a fully-automated sign-up, in the meantime please send an email with the word SUBSCRIBE to ianrbrodie@gmail com.