Hong Kong’s High Court on Monday found tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiring to collaborate with foreign forces in the city’s highest-profile trial under a Chinese-imposed national security law that could land him in prison for life.
The landmark case has drawn international scrutiny over Hong Kong’s judicial independence amid a years-long crackdown on rights and freedoms in the global financial hub following 2019 pro-democracy protests that Beijing saw as a challenge to its rule.
While supporters of Lai, 78, see him as a freedom fighter, Beijing considers him a mastermind of the protests and a conspirator who defends U.S. sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland China. Chinese authorities have rejected accusations that they are eroding the city’s rule of law.
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‘There is no doubt’ that Lai ‘nursed his resentment and hatred towards’ China for many of his adult years, Judge Esther Toh told a packed courtroom, as the tycoon, wearing a pale green sweater and gray jacket, sat with his arms crossed.
The other two 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 already spent five years in prison, facing a series of litigations under sweeping security legislation Beijing enacted in response to the 2019 protests.
A pre-sentence hearing, at which Lai can ask for leniency, is scheduled for January 12. His lawyer, Steven Kwan, said Lai will decide whether to appeal after the sentencing.
Hong Kong leader John Lee and national security police chief Steve Li told reporters on Monday they welcomed the verdict.
“The judiciary is confident and unafraid of any intimidation and firmly fulfills its responsibility to protect national security,” the city’s leader said at the airport ahead of a regular visit to Beijing.
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Lai, who suffers from health problems including diabetes and high blood pressure, was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy to collaborate with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.
