On a Monday in Hong Kong's High Court, Judge Esther Toh found the 78-year-old newspaper founder Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiring with foreign forces and of conspiring to publish seditious material, the most prominent test yet of the national security law Beijing imposed on the city. The verdict lands at the end of a long arc in which a press voice that once challenged power has been pressed into silence, and in which two irreconcilable accounts of the same man, freedom fighter to some and mastermind of unrest to others, now await a sentence that may be life imprisonment. What follows will reveal
Hong Kong Court Finds Jimmy Lai Guilty Under National Security Law in Landmark Trial
Lai, 78, has spent five years in jail, including more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement, and his family says his health has worsened and he has lost 10 kg.
Lai's only crime is running a newspaper, said press freedom advocates
Mark
Start with the basics. What exactly was Lai convicted of?
Mimi
Two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He denied all three. The collusion charge can mean life in prison.
Mark
Why is this case treated as the benchmark?
Mimi
It's the highest-profile trial under the national security law, and it began in December 2023. It's also read as a test of Hong Kong's judicial independence.
Luke
Careful there. Governments disagree sharply on that. Britain calls it politically motivated; Hong Kong and Beijing call the trial fair and just. The verdict itself is confirmed, but the characterisation depends on who is speaking.
Mark
And Lai's health?
Mimi
He's 78, with diabetes and high blood pressure, and has spent five years in jail. His family says more than 1,800 days were in solitary and that he lost 10 kg last year.
Luke
Note those figures come from his family. The source doesn't give an independent medical account, so they're attributed, not verified.
Mark
What about Trump's role?
Mimi
He said he asked Xi in October to consider releasing Lai and would see what happens. That's a stated request, not a promised outcome.
Luke
Right. There's no indication yet of any Chinese response to it, and the sentence isn't known. We don't know what he'll receive or whether he'll appeal.
Mark
So what comes next?
Mimi
A pre-sentencing hearing on January 12, then sentencing, and Lai decides on an appeal afterward, according to his lawyer Steven Kwan.
Il Polso
- A courtroom verdict on Monday has turned a single defendant into the focal point of a standoff between Beijing and Western capitals.
- Lai, 78 and unwell, faces a possible life sentence after five years in custody, with reports of more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement and a sharp loss of weight.
- Washington and London are pressing for his release, with President Trump saying he raised the case with Xi and London summoning the Chinese ambassador, while Beijing rejects the criticism as interference.
- Hong Kong's leaders and security officials have hailed the ruling and warned of a crackdown, even as mourning for a deadly fire and the collapse of the democratic opposition weigh on the city.
- All eyes now turn to the January 12 pre-sentencing hearing, where Lai can plead for leniency, and to whether an appeal or diplomatic bargaining reshapes his fate.
On a Monday in Hong Kong's High Court, Judge Esther Toh found the 78-year-old newspaper founder Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiring with foreign forces and of conspiring to publish seditious material, the most prominent test yet of the national security law Beijing imposed on the city. The verdict lands at the end of a long arc in which a press voice that once challenged power has been pressed into silence, and in which two irreconcilable accounts of the same man, freedom fighter to some and mastermind of unrest to others, now await a sentence that may be life imprisonment. What follows will reveal less about one aging prisoner than about how far a city's courts, its capital, and its foreign partners are willing to go in deciding who gets to be remembered as a patriot.
In a crowded High Court room in Hong Kong on Monday, Jimmy Lai sat with his arms folded as Judge Esther Toh read the finding against him. There was "no doubt," she said, that Lai had harboured deep resentment toward China for much of his adult life. He was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material, the most prominent case yet under the national security law Beijing imposed on the city. He had denied every charge, and the collusion offence carries a possible life sentence.
Lai, 78, founded Apple Daily, the newspaper now shuttered, and has long been among the sharpest critics of the Communist Party leadership. His trial began in December 2023, and he has already spent five years in jail. His family says more than 1,800 of those days were spent in solitary confinement, that his health has declined, and that he has lost 10 kilograms in the past year alone. His lawyer says he will decide on any appeal only after sentencing, and a pre-sentencing hearing, where Lai can plead for leniency, is set for January 12.
The two sides could hardly describe him more differently. Supporters see a freedom fighter. Beijing calls him a mastermind of the 2019 pro-democracy protests and a conspirator who urged foreign sanctions. Hong Kong's leader and national security chief welcomed the outcome, and Chinese officials condemned what they called manipulation by Western politicians and media.
Abroad the reaction came quickly. President Trump said he felt "so badly" for Lai, whom he described as old and unwell, and that he had asked Xi to consider release. Britain condemned a politically motivated prosecution and summoned the Chinese ambassador, and Beijing accused it of interference. Lai's children pressed the case too: his son Sebastien in London urged that his father's release be made a condition of closer ties, and his daughter Claire warned that his death in prison would do irreparable harm to Hong Kong's reputation.
The ruling comes as Hong Kong grieves a fire that killed at least 160 people and as its democratic opposition has nearly vanished, with the Democratic Party voting to disband. What comes next is the January hearing, the sentence, and whether Washington and London keep pressing for his release.
In a packed courtroom in Hong Kong's High Court on Monday, Jimmy Lai sat with his arms folded, dressed in a pale green jumper and a grey jacket, as Judge Esther Toh read out the finding against him. There was "no doubt," she said, that Lai had harboured resentment and hatred toward China for many of his adult years. He was convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, the most prominent case yet under the national security law Beijing imposed on the city.
Lai, 78, founded the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and is among the most prominent critics of the Chinese Communist Party leadership. He was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He had denied every charge. The collusion offence carries a possible sentence of life in prison. Toh sat with fellow judges Alex Lee and Susana D'Almada Remedios.
The trial began in December 2023. Lai has already spent five years in jail. His family says that time included more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement, and that his health has worsened; he has diabetes and high blood pressure. His son Sebastien said Lai lost 10 kg (22 pounds) in the past year alone. A pre-sentencing hearing, where Lai can plead for leniency, is set for January 12, and his lawyer, Steven Kwan, said Lai will decide whether to appeal only after sentencing.
The two sides describe him in opposite terms. Supporters see a freedom fighter. Beijing regards him as a mastermind of the 2019 pro-democracy protests and as a conspirator who advocated U.S. sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say the trial was fair and just and that the security law treats everyone equally. After the verdict, China's national security office in Hong Kong called Lai a pawn of external anti-China forces who attempted a "colour revolution," and condemned what it called political manipulation by a small number of Western politicians and anti-China media.
Hong Kong leader John Lee and national security police chief Steve Li both welcomed the outcome. Speaking at the airport before a regular trip to Beijing, Lee said the judiciary is confident and unafraid of intimidation and firmly discharges its duty to safeguard national security.
The reaction abroad was swift. U.S. President Donald Trump, who raised Lai's case with Xi Jinping in October, said at the White House that he felt "so badly." He said he had asked Xi to consider releasing Lai, who he described as old and unwell, and added: "We'll see what happens." Britain, which is trying to build stronger economic ties with Beijing, condemned a "politically-motivated prosecution" and demanded Lai's immediate release. Foreign minister Yvette Cooper told parliament the Chinese ambassador had been summoned to hear the government's position in the strongest terms. China's foreign ministry criticised Britain, Australia, the United States and Germany for smearing Hong Kong's justice system, and the Chinese embassy in London accused Britain of blatant interference, saying colonial rule had ended and Britain had no right to point fingers.
Lai's children spoke out too. Sebastien, in London, said the conviction showed how Beijing has weaponised the security law, and argued that countries such as Britain should make his father's release a condition of closer ties. Asked about a possible visit to China by Prime Minister Keir Starmer next year, he said: "bring my father back." In Washington, Claire Lai said that if her father died in prison it would do irrevocable damage to Hong Kong's reputation. The Committee to Protect Journalists' Asia-Pacific director, Beh Lih Yi, said Lai's only crime is running a newspaper and defending democracy. Amnesty International and activists who fled the city also condemned the verdict.
The ruling arrives as Hong Kong mourns a fire last month that killed at least 160 people in a residential complex, among the worst such blazes globally in recent years. Authorities have warned they will crack down on anyone using it to plunge the city back into the chaos of 2019. It also closes a year in which the democratic opposition all but vanished; the Democratic Party voted on Sunday to disband. Attention now turns to the January 12 hearing, the sentence, any appeal, and whether Washington and London press their requests for his release.
Citazioni salienti
I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release. We'll see what happens.— U.S. President Donald Trump
Bring my father back.— Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai's son
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Crime & Justice