Jimmy Lai: Hong Kong tycoon found guilty in landmark national security case

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under the city’s controversial national security law (NSL).

The 78-year-old man, who has been in prison since December 2020, pleaded not guilty. He faces life in prison and is expected to be sentenced early next year.

Lai used his now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper as part of a broader effort. to pressure foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China, the court concluded.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee welcomed the verdict, saying Lai’s actions “harmed the country’s interests and the well-being of Hong Kongers”, but human rights groups called it “a cruel judicial travesty”.

They say the NSL, which Beijing defends as essential to the city’s stability, has been used to crush dissent.

There is “no doubt” that Jimmy Lai “harbors hatred” toward the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Judge Esther Toh said on Monday, citing his “constant invitation to the United States to help overthrow the PRC government under the guise of helping the people of Hong Kong.”

When Lai testified in November, he denied all charges against him and said he had “never” used his foreign contacts to influence Hong Kong’s foreign policy.

When asked about his meeting with then-US Vice President Mike Pence, Lai said he didn’t ask him anything: “I would just tell him what happened in Hong Kong when he asked me.”

He was also asked about his meeting with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to which he said he had asked Pompeo, “not to do something, but to say something, to express his support for Hong Kong.”

Lai, a UK citizen and one of the fiercest critics of the Chinese state, was a key figure in the pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019. Beijing responded to the months-long demonstrations, which sometimes erupted into violent clashes with police, by introducing the NSL.

The law was enacted without consulting Hong Kong’s legislature and gave authorities broad powers to charge and imprison people they deemed a threat to the city’s law and order or the stability of the government.

Lai was accused of violating the NSL for his role in the protests and also through his tabloid Apple Daily, which became a standard-bearer for the pro-democracy movement.

Monday’s ruling also found Lai guilty of publishing seditious material on Apple Daily under a separate colonial-era law.

Lai appeared calm as the verdict was read and said goodbye to his family as he was escorted out of the courtroom. Lai’s wife, Teresa, and one of his children were in court, along with Cardinal Joseph Zen, an old friend who baptized Lai in 1997.

“Mr. Lai’s spirit is fine,” his lawyer Robert Pang said after the verdict was announced. “The sentence is so long that we will need some time to study it first. I have nothing to add at the moment.” He did not say whether they would appeal.

“The Chinese government abused Jimmy Lai with the aim of silencing all those who dare to criticize the CCP [Chinese Communist Party]”said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, after the verdict was announced.

“Given the farce of the Jimmy Lai case, governments should pressure the authorities to drop the case and release him immediately.”

Western governments, including the United Kingdom and the United States, have for years called for Lai’s release, something Beijing and Hong Kong have rejected.

US President Donald Trump had earlier vowed to “do everything possible to save” Lai, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had said securing his release was a “priority”.

Lai’s trial came to be seen as yet another test of the judicial independence of Hong Kong’s courts, which have been accused of toeing Beijing’s line since 2019 when it tightened its control over the city.

Hong Kong authorities insist the rule of law is intact, but critics point to the hundreds of protesters and activists who have been jailed under the NSL, and their nearly 100% conviction rate in May this year.

Bail is also often denied in NSL cases and that was also the case for Lai, despite human rights groups and Lai’s children raising concerns about his deteriorating health. He is reportedly being held in solitary confinement.

Lai’s son Sebastien told the BBC earlier this year that his father’s “body is decomposing”: “Given his age, given his health… he will die in prison.”

The Hong Kong government has also been criticized for prohibiting foreign lawyers from working on NSL cases without prior permission. They said it was a national security risk, although foreign lawyers had worked in the city’s courts for decades. Lai was subsequently denied his choice of lawyer, who resided in the United Kingdom.

Lai now joins dozens of figures in the city’s pro-democracy movement who have been sentenced to prison under the NSL.

The head of Hong Kong’s national security police addressed the media after the verdict, saying Lai had “fabricated news” in pursuit of “political objectives.”

On the mainland, the state-run Global Times newspaper quoted a member of Hong Kong’s election committee as saying the case sends a “clear message”: “Any attempt to divide the country or undermine Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability will be severely punished by law.”

Lai, who was born in mainland China, fled to Hong Kong when he was 12 and found his way as a businessman after founding international clothing brand Giordano.

His journey as a democracy activist began after China brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Lai began writing columns criticizing the massacre and launched a series of popular pro-democracy publications, including Apple Daily and Next.

Even now, many Hongkongers see him as a leading voice for democracy: some 80 people had queued to enter the court before Monday’s verdict.

One of them was Ms Lam, who did not want to share her full name. With an apple in hand, she said she started lining up around 11 a.m. local time on Sunday, almost a day before the session, because dozens of people had arrived before her. It was a cold night, he said, but he did it because he wanted to wish Lai good luck.

“We all feel frustrated and helpless. However, this whole matter must have an end and the time has come,” a former journalist for the Apple newspaper, who was also in court, told the BBC.

“Jimmy always said he was indebted to Hong Kong… but I think Hong Kong and the majority of Hong Kongers are very grateful that he upholds the core values, good faith and integrity of the community at the expense of their personal well-being and freedom.”

In his testimony, Lai claimed that he had “never allowed” his newspaper staff to advocate for Hong Kong independence, which he described as a “conspiracy” and “too crazy to think about.”

“Apple Daily’s core values ​​are actually the core values ​​of the people of Hong Kong,” he had said. These values, he added, include the “rule of law, freedom, the pursuit of democracy, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly.”