Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy figure, is set to be sentenced on Monday in the financial hub’s most high-profile national security case, amid growing calls to free the longstanding critic of the Chinese Communist party whose health is frail.
The sentence comes after a legal saga spanning almost five years for the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper after he was convicted in December of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials. He was first arrested in 2020.
Sentencing guidelines under the national security law stipulate that Lai, who was deemed a “mastermind” of a conspiracy to engage with foreign activists, politicians and others to solicit foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and China, could come under the most severe penalty “band” of 10 years to life imprisonment for offences of a “grave nature”.
The 78-year-old has denied all the charges against him, saying in court he is a “political prisoner” facing persecution from Beijing.
Lai’s treatment has been criticised by global leaders including US president Donald Trump and British prime minister Keir Starmer. His arrest and trial comes amid a years-long national security crackdown in the financial hub, after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Beh Lih Yi, the Asia-Pacific director at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said: “Jimmy Lai’s trial has been nothing but a charade from the start and shows total contempt for Hong Kong laws that are supposed to protect press freedom.”
Beijing says Lai has received a fair trial and all are treated equally under the national security law that has restored order to the city.
Besides Lai, six former senior Apple Daily staffers, an activist and a paralegal will also be sentenced.
Starmer raised the case of Lai, who holds British citizenship, in detail during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, according to people briefed on the discussions. Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, and China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, were also present.
Trump too, raised Lai’s case with Xi during a meeting in October last year. Several western diplomats told Reuters that negotiations to free Lai would probably begin in earnest after he is sentenced, and depending on whether Lai appeals.
Lai’s family, lawyer, supporters and former colleagues have warned that he could die in prison because he suffers from health conditions including heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
“I worry about his health most. I hope he and his family can be at peace,” said Simon Ng, 65, one of dozens of supporters queueing for days outside the courthouse ahead of sentencing, some with sleeping bags and camping gear.
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