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 that 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.
Sebastien Lai, one of his children, said the family was saddened but not surprised by the verdict.
“In the 800-page verdict they have there is essentially nothing, nothing that incriminates him,” Sebastien Lai told reporters in London. “This is a perfect example of how the national security law has been molded and weaponized against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn’t like.”
“This verdict proves that the authorities still fear our father, even in his weakened state, for what he represents,” his daughter Claire said in a statement. “We stand by his innocence and condemn this miscarriage of justice.”
WATCH | Lai speaks to CBC News in 2020 on why he takes on Beijing:
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai risks everything to take on Beijing
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.Court says Lai spent years plotting against Beijing
Reading from the 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.
Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for sanctions before the law took effect but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law.
But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way.”
Toh added that the court was satisfied Lai was the “mastermind” of the conspiracies and that Lai’s evidence was at times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai’s only intent, both before and after the security law, was to seek the downfall of the ruling Communist Party, even at the expense of the people of China and Hong Kong.
“This was the ultimate aim of the conspiracies and secessionist publications,” they wrote.
Among the attendees were Lai’s wife and son, and Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom.
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 will be sentenced on a later day.
The collusion charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Hearings were set to begin Jan. 12 for Lai and other defendants in the case to argue for a shorter sentence.
The Apple Daily, a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and Beijing, was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.
WATCH | Lai’s niece in Canada hopes ‘nobody forgets’ about him:
Jimmy Lai’s niece in Niagara hopes ‘nobody forgets’ about him
“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.
Health concerns raised during marathon trial
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.
Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations.
His children have said that he lost 22 pounds in the past year alone and lost some of his nails and teeth. They also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.
WATCH | Who is Jimmy Lai and why does China want him behind bars? (from 2023):
Why China wants this billionaire behind bars | About That
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?
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.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said Lai harmed the fundamental interests of the country, calling his intentions malicious.
Steve Li, chief superintendent of Hong Kong police’s National Security Department, disputed claims of Lai’s worsening health outside the court building.
“Lai’s conviction is justice served,” he told reporters.
Hong Kong police direct people into the West Kowloon Law Courts building to hear the Lai verdict on Monday. (Leung Man Hei/AFP/Getty Images)U.K., rights groups slam outcome, China defends it
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on X that her country condemned the politically motivated prosecution that resulted in the guilty verdict, saying it would continue to call for his release. The EU also deplored the conviction.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China expressed firm opposition to the vilification of the city’s judiciary by “certain countries,” urging them to respect the city’s legal system.
Rights groups, including global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, condemned the verdict.
“It is not an individual who has been on trial — it is press freedom itself, and with this verdict, that has been shattered,” said Reporters Without Borders’ director general Thibaut Bruttin.
But Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the verdict has nothing to do with press freedom.
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., 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 added, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”