(TibetanReview.net, Feb10’26) – China has jailed Hong Kong’s well-known media tycoon Jimmy Lai for what his son sees as a death sentence for the alleged crime, in essence, of nothing more than saying things Beijing did not like. The 78-year-old British citizen was sentenced on Feb 9 to 20 years, with Hong Kong’s Beijing-compliant court demonising his call for respect for democratic rights as threats to China’s national security at the end of his year-long trial last December.
The court of national security judges Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana Maria D’Almada Remedios and Alex Lee Wan-tang have handed down the sentence to Lai, 78, after they found him guilty on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
Following worldwide criticisms, China defended the court’s action. It called Lai a principal planner and participant in a series of anti-China and Hong Kong-disrupting incidents. “His actions seriously undermined the bottom line of the principle of ‘One Country, Two Systems,’ gravely endangered national security, and severely harmed Hong Kong’s prosperity, stability, and the well-being of its residents; therefore, he deserves severe punishment under the law,” the official globaltimes.cn Feb 9 quoted Lin Jian, spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Lin, as saying.
Lin has urged relevant countries to respect China’s sovereignty and Hong Kong’s rule of law, refrain from making irresponsible remarks about judicial proceedings in the HKSAR, and stop interfering in Hong Kong’s judicial affairs or in China’s internal affairs in any form.
Lai’s was the harshest sentence to be given under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law, noted bbc.com Feb 9. He was one of the loudest critics of China, often using his pro-democracy paper, Apple Daily, as a tool of protest. He has always denied the charges against him, it said.
The report cited Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, as saying his imprisonment by Chinese authorities was essentially a “death sentence”.
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Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has said her government intended to “rapidly engage further” with Beijing on Lai’s release. She has called on the Hong Kong authorities “to end this appalling ordeal and release him on humanitarian grounds,” adding, “We stand with the people of Hong Kong.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called the sentence “an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case”, and similarly urged authorities to grant Lai “humanitarian parole”.
The sentence “shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong”, Rubio has said in a statement.
Western governments, including the UK and US, have for years called for his release, which Beijing and Hong Kong have rejected.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing last month, calling for Lai’s release.
Critics and Lai’s family have argued that the UK did not take sufficient and concrete steps to reverse the course. They have accused Starmer of a “monumental diplomatic failure” in failing to secure freedom for Lai who was sentenced shortly after his China visit.
“Just over a week ago, he was with President Xi defending engagement with the CCP. He gave China permission for their super embassy spy hub but failed to secure Jimmy’s release,” dailymail.co.uk Feb 9 quoted Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel as saying.
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China’s National Security Law for Hong Kong makes illegal a wide range of dissenting acts, including anything the state regards as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, essentially negating the freedoms guaranteed by China’s mini constitution for Hong Kong adopted at the time of its handover from the UK in Jun 1997.
The sweeping law imposed by Beijing fundamentally reshaped Hong Kong’s legal and political landscape and came into force on Jun 30, 2020. Its vaguely defined offences gives authorities wide discretion, which is typical of any Chinese law on the mainland.
The law was widely criticised by the UN, US, UK, EU, and human rights organisations and led to sanctions, changes to Hong Kong’s special trade status, and migration pathways for Hong Kong residents in the UK.