China Critic Jimmy Lai Handed 20-Year Prison Sentence by Hong Kong Court

Latest Developments

• Jimmy Lai Sentenced: A Hong Kong court sentenced Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on February 9 after the 78-year-old former media mogul and pro-democracy activist was convicted in December of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security. Six of Lai’s co-defendants — including former employees of Lai’s now shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and two other activists — received sentences ranging from six years and three months to 10 years on similar charges. In a family statement, Lai’s sister labeled the sentence “heartbreakingly cruel” while adding that if it came to fruition, Lai would “die a martyr behind bars.”
• U.S., UK Officials Decry Verdict: Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Lai’s sentencing “an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case” while urging authorities to “grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole.” In December, President Donald Trump said that he felt “so badly” over Lai’s verdict and that he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to “consider his release.” Lai is “an older man, and he’s not doing well, so I put that request out,” Trump said. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that he also implored Xi to release Lai, a UK citizen, during his visit to Beijing last month.
• Taiwan Concerned: A Taiwanese government press release read that “Jimmy Lai’s heavy sentence under the Hong Kong National Security Law not only deprives individuals of their personal freedom and tramples on freedom of speech and the press, but also denies the basic right of the people to hold those in power accountable.” Since Beijing imposed the 2020 National Security Law in Hong Kong, more than 300 people have been arrested, and at least a dozen independent media outlets, including Apple Daily, have been forced to close. 

FDD Expert Response

“The conviction and harsh sentencing of publisher Jimmy Lai not only crush freedom of speech and freedom of the press, but they also betray the Sino-British Joint Declaration’s promise that the people of Hong Kong would maintain their rights and freedoms for 50 years. This solemn treaty obligation Beijing now treats as, in its own words, a ‘historical document’ with no binding force. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, President Donald Trump, and other leaders of free nations should condemn Beijing unequivocally and make clear that this action will have an impact on their relations with China’s Communist rulers going forward.” — Clifford D. May, Founder and President

“Sentencing Lai to 20 years in prison is, in practical terms, a life sentence for a 78-year-old man whose only crime was exercising basic freedoms. It also creates a clear opening for President Trump to raise Lai’s case directly in Beijing this spring and press for his release on humanitarian grounds, which is consistent with how this president has approached high-profile detainee cases in past negotiations.” — Craig Singleton, China Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow

FDD Background and Analysis

“The battered Western alliance,” by Clifford D. May

“CCP Raids Churches, Arrests Hundreds of Christians in ‘China’s Jerusalem’,” by Samuel Ben-Ur

“Free Jimmy Lai,” by Clifford D. May