Hong Kong's High Court today found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai (黎智英) guilty of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.
The landmark case has drawn international scrutiny of Hong Kong's judicial independence amid a years-long crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Chinese territory after 2019 pro-democracy protests that Beijing saw as a challenge to its rule.
While Lai's supporters see him as a freedom fighter, Beijing sees him as a mastermind of the protests and a conspirator advocating for US sanctions against Hong Kong and China.
Photo: Reuters
Chinese authorities have rejected accusations of eroding the territory's rule of law.
"There is no doubt" that Lai "had harbored his resentment and hatred of" China for many of his adult years, judge Esther Toh (杜麗冰) told a packed courtroom as the tycoon, wearing a pale green jumper and a gray jacket, sat with his arms folded.
The two other judges in his case were Alex Lee and Susana D’Almada Remedios.
Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and one of the most prominent critics of China's Communist Party leadership, has faced a slew of litigation, including cases under the sweeping security legislation that Beijing enacted in response to the 2019 protests.
Lai, who has already spent five years in jail pending the outcome of his case, is to be sentenced at a later date.
A pre-sentencing hearing where Lai can plead for lenience is scheduled for Jan. 12.
His lawyer Steven Kwan said Lai would decide whether to appeal after the sentencing.
The 78-year-old, who suffers from health issues including diabetes and high blood pressure, had pleaded not guilty to the three charges — one of conspiracy to publish seditious material, and two of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.
Lai's verdict bookends a year that marked the essential disappearance of Hong Kong's democratic opposition, with the territory's largest opposition, the Democratic Party, voting to disband yesterday under pressure from Beijing.
Outside the courthouse, people overnight formed a line more than a block long, some with camping gear, seeking one of the 507 tickets to the courthouse.
Police were monitoring the area around the courthouse.
Lai's trial began in December 2023 and is the highest-profile use of Beijing's sweeping national security law in the former British colony that reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, with the verdict looming as a potential fresh diplomatic flashpoint.
Countries including the US and Britain, as well as rights groups, say the trial is politically motivated and have called for Lai's immediate release.
US President Donald Trump raised Lai's case with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in a meeting in October and has said he would do his utmost to "save" Lai.
Media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders also described Lai's trial as "a sham."
The Chinese and Hong Kong governments have said the tycoon was receiving a fair trial and that the national security law treats all equally.
They have said no freedoms are absolute when it comes to safeguarding national security.
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