Hong Kong — Jimmy Lai, the 78-year-old pro-democracy media founder and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted Monday in a landmark national security trial that could leave him imprisoned for life. A three-judge panel found Lai guilty of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and of conspiring to publish seditious articles. He had pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Lai, who was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law enacted after the 2019 protests, has spent about five years in custody, much of it in solitary confinement. His legal team and family say his health has deteriorated during detention; he has previously been convicted on lesser charges and given other sentences tied to the 2019 unrest.
The non-jury trial drew intense international scrutiny as a barometer of press freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony. Judge Esther Toh delivered an 855-page judgment concluding that Lai repeatedly sought U.S. assistance to bring down the Chinese government under the guise of helping Hong Kong people. The court characterized Lai as the mastermind of conspiracies to solicit foreign sanctions or hostile measures against Hong Kong or China.
Defense lawyers acknowledged Lai’s past calls for sanctions before the national security law took effect but argued he ceased such appeals once the law was in force. The judges rejected that argument, finding that Lai had continued to harbor intent to destabilize the Chinese Communist Party, sometimes in less explicit ways. The verdict said portions of Lai’s testimony were inconsistent or unreliable and that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was an aim to bring about the Party’s downfall, even at the expense of people in China and Hong Kong.
Family members, including Lai’s wife and son, attended the hearing. Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen was also present. Lai briefly mouthed a farewell to relatives before being led from the dock.
The conviction carries diplomatic ramifications. The United Kingdom, citing Lai’s British citizenship, has said securing his release is a priority. Sentencing will take place at a later date; the collusion charge carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Mitigation hearings for Lai and several co-defendants were scheduled to begin Jan. 12.
Prosecutors pointed to Lai’s role at the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, which was forced to close in 2021 after police raided its newsroom, arrested senior staff and froze assets. They submitted 161 items of material as evidence—including Apple Daily articles, social media posts and text messages—and highlighted meetings Lai held with former U.S. officials, including Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo, in July 2019 amid the protests.
Lai testified for 52 days, insisting he had not sought foreign sanctions after the national security law took effect and defending his publications as legitimate journalism protected by freedom of expression. His lawyers argued his output constituted ordinary reporting and opinion.
Health issues were a recurring theme in the proceedings. Lawyers said Lai complained of heart palpitations and other ailments; his daughter Claire told the press that he had weakened physically, lost nails and teeth and suffered infections, chronic back pain, diabetes and heart problems. “His spirit is strong but his body is failing,” she said. After the verdict, defense counsel Robert Pang said Lai was in reasonably good spirits as the legal team reviewed the judgment. Hong Kong authorities said medical examinations found no abnormalities and that his care had been adequate.
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said Lai’s actions had harmed the city’s fundamental interests and described his intentions as malicious. Steve Li, head of the police National Security Department, said the conviction represented justice served. In Beijing, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson condemned foreign criticism of Hong Kong’s judiciary and urged respect for the city’s legal process.
Dozens of people lined up before dawn to get seats in a packed courtroom. Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung, who arrived at 5 a.m., said she came to check on Lai’s condition and expressed frustration that the verdict date had been announced only days earlier, though she felt relief that the case was advancing toward a conclusion.
Human rights and press freedom groups sharply criticized the outcome. Reporters Without Borders called the trial an attack on press freedom, saying it amounted to a prosecution of journalism itself. Amnesty International described the conviction as a potential death knell for press freedom in Hong Kong and argued that Lai had been punished for criticizing the government. Speaking from London, Lai’s son Sebastien urged that his father’s release be made a precondition for closer relations with China.
Lai has faced multiple legal actions in recent years. In 2022 he was sentenced to five years and nine months on fraud-related lease charges, in addition to other sentences linked to protests in 2019. The new conviction adds to the years he has already spent behind bars and sets the stage for sentencing and mitigation proceedings in the months ahead.