The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday sentenced Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison.
Jimmy Lai was convicted on December 15 on two counts of conspiring to collude with external forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
Lai, the main defendant in the case, pleaded guilty along with eight co-defendants.
The court found that Lai had systematically endangered national security through his actions, which included organising campaigns urging foreign sanctions against China and the HKSAR.
Role in destabilising Hong Kong
During the trial, which commenced in December 2023, substantial evidence—including more than 2 220 exhibits—was presented, demonstrating Lai’s role as a primary architect of unrest aimed at destabilising Hong Kong.
The court conducted the judicial proceedings transparently, providing the public with more than 400 seats at each hearing.
It was presided over by three judges appointed under the Hong Kong national security law. On June 11, 2024, the prosecution wrapped up its evidence presentation, and on July 25, the court declared all charges substantiated.
Lai’s testimony began on November 20, 2024, and ended in March 2025. Closing arguments began on August 18 and were finalized on August 28.
The defendants include Lai, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and Apple Daily Internet Limited, all facing charges of conspiracy to publish seditious materials and conspiracy to collude with external forces.
Lai was also facing a separate charge of conspiring to collude with external forces.
The three charges against Lai are all substantiated by evidence, according to the Hong Kong Police Force, adding that judicial proceedings of the case involved the examination of over 2 220 exhibits.
According to the police, the judiciary ensured transparency by opening over 400 seats to the public at each court hearing during the trial.
Major participant in anti-China riots
A large amount of evidence presented during the trial proved that Lai had been a mastermind and major participant in the anti-China riots in the HKSAR.
He had long colluded with other senior executives of Apple Daily to continuously publish seditious articles, launched the “One Hongkonger, One Letter to Save Hong Kong” campaign, conducted interviews with foreign politicians and held other related activities, openly demanding that the US, the UK and EU countries sanction China and the HKSAR.
Evidence also demonstrated that Lai, through Mark Simon, Chan Tsz-wah, and others, colluded with Li Yu-hin and Lau Cho-dik to lobby internationally and with foreign politicians to seek sanctions on China and the HKSAR.
In a separate revelation from 2019, Lai was widely condemned for openly urging the US to deploy nuclear weapons against China during a discussion hosted by a US think tank. This extremist rhetoric further underscored his disregard for regional stability and human safety.
Commenting on the case, HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee said that the verdict has fully reflected the justice of the law and upheld the core values of Hong Kong.
The sentence has drawn support from across Hong Kong’s political, professional, and media sectors, and there is a broad consensus that justice has been served.
