Jimmy Lai, the former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city’s court on Monday, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Lai was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years in custody, Lai has been sentenced for several lesser offences, and appears to have grown thinner and more frail.
Lai’s trial, conducted without a jury, has been closely monitored by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Reading from an 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that the evidence showed Lai had extended “constant invitations” to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government and had spent years considering what leverage the U.S. could use.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has already taken huge risks by having his newspaper openly criticize Beijing, including the new national security law, and he’s been arrested for organizing pro-democracy protests. He tells National co-host Adrienne Arsenault that Hong Kong as it’s known to its people and the world is in danger of disappearing.
“There is no doubt that the first defendant had harboured his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years,” Toh said, using an acronym for the People’s Republic of China.
Toh added that the court was satisfied Lai was the “mastermind” of the conspiracies, and the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai’s intent was to seek the downfall of the ruling Communist Party, even at the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.
Among the attendees were Lai’s wife and son, and Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai pressed his lips and nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom by guards.
His verdict is also a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties.
U.S. President Donald Trump said he has raised the case with China, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.
Life sentence possible
The founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, in addition to one count of conspiracy to distribute seditious publications.
Under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, the collusion charge could result in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment, depending on the offence’s nature and his role in it. The sedition charge carries a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. A four-day mitigation hearing was set to begin Jan. 12 for Lai to argue for a shorter sentence.
The Apple Daily was a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. It was forced to shut down in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.
“We should be doing something to help him,” said Lidija Biro, part of the Amnesty International Niagara chapter which helped organize a rally in support of Jimmy Lai’s release from a Hong Kong prison. Lai owns hotels in the region. Biro was among others, including his family members and employees, who marched on Wednesday.
During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
The prosecution also accused Lai of making such requests, highlighting his meetings with former U.S. vice-president Mike Pence and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo in July 2019 at the height of the protests.
It also presented 161 publications, including Apple Daily articles, to the court as evidence of conspiracy to publish seditious materials, as well as social media posts and text messages.
‘His spirit is strong but his body is failing’
Lai testified for 52 days in his own defence, arguing that he had not called for foreign sanctions after the sweeping security law was imposed in June 2020.
His legal team also argued for freedom of expression.
As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to be deteriorating.
After waiting more than three years in a jail cell, Jimmy Lai stood trial for treason in a Hong Kong courtroom this week. If found guilty, the 76-year-old could spend the rest of his life in prison. But who is this media tycoon and pro-democracy activist? And why does the Chinese government want him behind bars?
Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. His daughter Claire told The Associated Press that her father has become weaker and skinnier, and lost some of his nails and teeth. She also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.
“His spirit is strong but his body is failing,” she said.
Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found during a medical examination that followed Lai’s complaint of heart problems. It added this month that the medical services provided to him were “adequate and comprehensive.”
Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued outside the court building to secure a courtroom seat.
Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung arrived at 5 a.m. local time, saying she wanted to know about Lai’s condition after reports of his health.
She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict date was announced only last Friday, but said, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”
Originally scheduled to start in December 2022, Lai’s trial was postponed to December 2023 as authorities blocked a British lawyer from representing him, citing national security risks.
In 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison over separate fraud charges involving lease violations at Apple Daily’s headquarters. He was also previously sentenced for his roles in unauthorized assemblies in other cases related to the 2019 protests.
