Source: Xinhua Editor: huaxia 2026-02-10
HONG KONG, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) — The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday sentenced Jimmy Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong, to 20 years in prison for three crimes endangering national security.
The sentence was announced along with penalties for other defendants in the national security case. Eight defendants received imprisonment terms ranging from six years and three months to 10 years. The three corporate defendants, namely Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and Apple Daily Internet Limited, were each fined 3,004,500 Hong Kong dollars (about 384,477 U.S. dollars).
In the sentencing of Lai, the court found that Lai was the “mastermind and driving force” behind conspiracies to collude with external forces and to publish seditious materials. After considering Lai’s grave criminal conduct as well as his mitigation, the court handed down the sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, with two of the years overlapping with the prison term Lai is currently serving.
Central government agencies in Hong Kong, as well as local authorities, have voiced support for the sentencing.
The sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment imposed on Jimmy Lai manifested that the rule of law is upheld and justice is done, and also brought great relief to all, said HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee.
Lai betrayed the country and harmed the HKSAR, causing damage to the interests of the country and the HKSAR. His conviction is supported by overwhelming evidence, and he for sure deserves his punishment after all the harm he has done, Lee said.
“The court’s judgment illustrates that the rule of law in Hong Kong is robust,” Tang Ping-keung, secretary for security of the HKSAR government, told reporters on Monday.
Over the years, Lai and his syndicate have misled people with fake news and false information, inflicting irreparable harm on society, said Tang. Even after the enactment of the national security law in Hong Kong, the defendants in the case continued with their crimes for some time until after they were arrested by the police, Tang noted.
The heavy sentence clearly reflected the very serious nature of the offences committed by Lai, said Tang.
The sentencing fully demonstrated judicial fairness and the authority of the rule of law, and reflected the HKSAR’s firm determination and strong will to lawfully punish criminal acts and activities endangering national security, said a spokesperson for the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR.
The facts proved once again that the despicable dealings of external forces and anti-China elements seeking to destabilize Hong Kong are ultimately futile, said the spokesperson.
“The punishment fit the crime,” said a spokesperson for the Office for Safeguarding National Security of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR.
The 156-day public trial, which involved the examination of 2,220 exhibits, over 80,000 pages of case files and testimonies of 14 prosecution witnesses, had established that Lai colluded with external forces to endanger national security, the spokesperson noted. The judicial process was open, transparent, rigorous, fair and just, with Lai’s legal rights protected.
The ruling of Jimmy Lai’s case has represented not only the fulfillment of justice, but also a clear warning to anyone who attempts to challenge legal boundaries, said a spokesperson for the Commissioner’s Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the HKSAR in an open letter to foreign media agencies based in Hong Kong.
The spokesperson called on journalists of foreign media outlets to respect the independence of Hong Kong’s judicial process, uphold journalistic professionalism, and report on the case with objectivity and fairness, refraining from politicizing legal matters.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 