{"id":4681,"date":"2025-12-15T23:01:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/15\/jimmy-lai-convicted-by-hong-kong-court-in-landmark-national-security-trial\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T23:01:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T23:01:11","slug":"jimmy-lai-convicted-by-hong-kong-court-in-landmark-national-security-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/2025\/12\/15\/jimmy-lai-convicted-by-hong-kong-court-in-landmark-national-security-trial\/","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Lai convicted by Hong Kong court in landmark national security trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

HONG KONG \u2014 Jimmy Lai<\/a>, a Hong Kong<\/a> activist and media mogul who was a major figure in 2019 pro-democracy protests, was convicted Monday in a landmark national security trial that has drawn international scrutiny and become a symbol of Beijing\u2019s crackdown on dissent<\/a> in the Chinese territory.<\/p>\n

Lai, one of the most prominent critics of China\u2019s ruling Communist Party, was arrested in 2020<\/a> shortly after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law<\/a> in response to the anti-government protests, which roiled Hong Kong for months in 2019 and sometimes turned violent.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

He was found guilty of two charges of colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials under legislation from Hong Kong\u2019s time as a British colony.<\/p>\n

Lai, who turned 78 last week and faces life in prison, will be sentenced at a later date and is allowed to appeal.<\/p>\n

The 156-day trial, which began in December 2023<\/a> and was heard by three judges handpicked to hear national security cases, has been criticized by Western governments and rights groups as politically motivated<\/a>. Both the United States and Britain have called for Lai, a British citizen, to be released.<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump <\/a>has repeatedly promised to \u201cfree\u201d Lai<\/a>, drawing a warning last year<\/a> from Hong Kong\u2019s top leader, John Lee<\/a>, not to interfere in Hong Kong\u2019s internal affairs. A White House official confirmed to NBC News last month that Trump discussed Lai\u2019s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> during their meeting in South Korea<\/a> in October.<\/p>\n

Lai\u2019s trial is seen as a test of judicial independence and press freedom in Hong Kong, which was promised its Western-style civil liberties would be preserved for 50 years upon its return to Chinese rule<\/a> in 1997.<\/p>\n

The Hong Kong and Chinese governments say Lai has received a fair trial and that the criticism is an attempt to undermine the city\u2019s rule of law.<\/p>\n

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday that Beijing firmly supports the Hong Kong government in \u201cbringing criminals who endanger national security to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lai has spent nearly five years in solitary confinement since his arrest in 2020, during which time he has been convicted on multiple other charges including unauthorized assembly and fraud. His family and supporters have expressed growing concern about his health, as Lai suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure as well as heart palpitations.<\/p>\n

The Hong Kong government says Lai has received \u201cadequate and comprehensive\u201d medical services while in custody and that it separates people such as Lai from other prisoners at their own request to ensure their \u201cpersonal safety and well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Lai was the \u201cmastermind\u201d of an alleged conspiracy with activists and others to lobby foreign countries, including the U.S., to impose sanctions and other forms of pressure against China and Hong Kong. They cited meetings Lai had with U.S. officials including Mike Pence<\/a>, the vice president at the time, at the height of the 2019 protests.<\/p>\n

Lai is also accused of using Apple Daily<\/a>, the now-defunct pro-democracy tabloid he founded in 1995, to publish a series of allegedly seditious articles that prosecutors said incited hatred of the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.<\/p>\n

Lai, who spent 52 days testifying<\/a>, denied using his overseas connections to influence foreign policy on China and Hong Kong. He also said he never intended to \u201cpollute\u201d his readers\u2019 minds but was only commenting on facts.<\/p>\n

John Burns, an emeritus professor specializing in Chinese politics at the University of Hong Kong, said he was \u201cnot so sure\u201d how significant Lai\u2019s conviction would be for Hong Kong\u2019s press freedom and autonomy.<\/p>\n

Though the Lai trial is Hong Kong\u2019s most high-profile case stemming from the crackdown, Burns said, two other cases from last year had \u201cmuch more significant\u201d implications for the city\u2019s human rights situation.<\/p>\n

They include the conviction of two journalists accused of sedition over their work for the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Stand News<\/a>, and the subversion charges against 47 pro-democracy figures<\/a> over their involvement in an unofficial primary election, 45 of whom were convicted or pleaded guilty.<\/p>\n

Open dissent has been chilled<\/a> in Hong Kong under the Beijing-imposed national security law and related local legislation<\/a>, both of which officials say were necessary to restore stability after the 2019 protests. Most of the city\u2019s pro-democracy figures have been imprisoned, quit politics or moved overseas.<\/p>\n

The Lai verdict comes a day after Hong Kong\u2019s last major opposition party, the Democratic Party, disbanded after a vote by its members<\/a>, who cited pressure from Chinese officials or intermediaries.<\/p>\n

It also comes a week after a \u201cpatriots only\u201d legislative election<\/a> held under rules that were changed in 2021 to require national security vetting of candidates. Officials have defended the new rules as necessary to restore stability, but critics say they have sidelined groups such as the Democratic Party and left the legislature without any meaningful opposition.<\/p>\n

Voter turnout was 31.9%, a near-record low that is far lower than it was in elections before the legal overhaul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HONG KONG \u2014 Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong activist and media mogul who was a major figure in 2019 pro-democracy protests, was convicted Monday in a landmark national security trial that has drawn international scrutiny and become a symbol of Beijing\u2019s crackdown on dissent in the Chinese territory. Lai, one of the most prominent critics <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4681","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}