Image: from James Wood 武杰士 X@commiepommie
HONG KONG – In a move that international observers are calling the “last nail in the coffin” for civil liberties in the territory, the Hong Kong High Court has sentenced media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison.
The 77-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily was convicted on Monday under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL). The charges included conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and sedition. The sentence is the harshest handed down to a single individual since the security law was enacted in 2020.
“Architect” of Dissent
Presiding Judge Esther Toh described Lai as the “mastermind” behind a sophisticated campaign to destabilize the Chinese government by soliciting international sanctions. Despite facing a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, the 20-year term is seen as a de facto life sentence given Lai’s advanced age.
Throughout the trial, which lasted over a year, Lai remained defiant. His legal team argued that his actions—including meetings with foreign officials and editorials critical of Beijing—were legitimate exercises of journalism and political expression protected under the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.
The Fall of Apple Daily
The sentencing marks the grim conclusion of a saga that began in August 2020, when over 200 police officers raided the Apple Daily offices. The newspaper, a bastion of anti-government sentiment, was forced to shutter in 2021 after authorities froze its bank accounts, leaving it unable to pay staff or vendors.
The prosecution used over 150 articles published by the paper as evidence of “seditious intent,” claiming the publication incited public hatred toward the authorities and invited “foreign interference” into Hong Kong’s internal affairs.
International Condemnation
The ruling ignited an immediate firestorm of global criticism. The European Union issued a statement calling for Lai’s “immediate and unconditional release,” describing the NSL’s provisions as “vague and excessively broad.”
In London, the Foreign Office summoned the Chinese Ambassador, stating that the conviction “demonstrates a complete disregard for the rule of law.” Meanwhile, rights groups including Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) characterized the trial as a “judicial charade” intended to silence the city’s most prominent critic.
Beijing, however, dismissed the outcry as “gross interference.” A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong stated that the verdict was a “just victory for the rule of law” and a necessary step in purging “anti-China destabilizers” from the city.
A Changed City
For many in Hong Kong, the 20-year sentence for a man once considered the “Rupert Murdoch of Asia” serves as a final warning. Since 2020, nearly all prominent pro-democracy figures have been imprisoned, fled abroad, or been forced into silence.
As Jimmy Lai was led away from the dock, supporters in the gallery reportedly shouted, “Hang in there, Jimmy!”—a final echo of the mass protests that once defined the city before the security law reshaped its reality.