Hong Kong tycoon found guilty in national security case

Hong Kong democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of conspiring with foreign powers under the controversial National Security Law (NSL).

The 78-year-old British citizen, who has been in prison since December 2020, has pleaded not guilty. He faces life in prison and is expected to be sentenced early next year.

Rai used the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper as part of a broader effort. The court ruled that he had lobbied foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee welcomed the ruling, saying Lai’s actions were “harmful to the interests of the nation and the well-being of Hong Kong people.” Human rights groups called it a “cruel judicial farce.”

They say the NSL, which Beijing says is essential to the city’s stability, has been used to suppress dissent.

In handing down her ruling Monday, Judge Esther To said there was “no question that Jimmy Lai harbored hatred for the People’s Republic of China (PRC),” adding that he had “constantly asked the United States to help him overthrow the Chinese government under the pretext of helping the people of Hong Kong.”

When Lai testified in November, he denied all charges against him, saying he never used his foreign contacts to influence Hong Kong’s foreign policy.

When asked about his meeting with then-US Vice President Mike Pence, Prime Minister Lai said he did not ask him anything.

He was also asked about his meeting with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in which he said he asked Pompeo “not to do something, but to say something, to express support for Hong Kong.”

One of the fiercest critics of the Chinese state, Lai was a key figure in the pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019. China responded to months of protests, which at times led to violent clashes with police, by introducing the National Security Law (NSL).

The law was enacted without consultation with Hong Kong’s legislature and gives authorities broad powers to prosecute and detain people deemed a threat to law and order or government stability in the city.

Lai was accused of violating the NSL for his role in the protests and through Apple Daily, a tabloid that has become a standard for the pro-democracy movement.

Monday’s ruling also found Rai guilty of publishing seditious material on Apple Daily under a separate colonial-era law.

Rai looked calm as the verdict was read and said goodbye to his family as he was escorted out of the courtroom. Rai’s wife, Teresa, and one of his sons appeared in court alongside his longtime friend, Cardinal Joseph Zen, who baptized Rai in 1997.

“Mr Lai’s mind is fine,” his lawyer, Robert Pang, said after the verdict. “The judgment is so long that I think I’ll need some time to study it first. I don’t have anything to add at this time.” He did not say whether they would appeal.

Jimmy Lai’s son Sebastien has called on the British government to do “more” to help secure his father’s release.

“Now is the time to put action behind words and make my father’s release a precondition for closer relations with China,” he told a news conference in London.

Britain condemned the “politically motivated persecution” of Rai and said she was “targeted for peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression.”

“The UK has repeatedly called for the national security law to be repealed and the prosecution of all individuals charged under it to cease,” the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Development Office said in a statement on Monday.

“The Chinese government abused Jimmy Lai with the goal of silencing anyone who dares criticize the Chinese Communist Party,” Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said after the ruling.

“In the face of the travesty of the Jimmy Lai case, the government must put pressure on the authorities to withdraw the case and release him immediately.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun responded to the accusations “from certain countries.”

“China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to Hong Kong’s shameless defamation and undermining of the judicial system,” he said.

Western governments, including Britain and the United States, have called for Lai’s release for years, but China and Hong Kong have refused.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump pledged to “do everything” to save Lai, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said securing his release was a “priority”.

Lai’s trial was widely seen as another test of judicial independence for Hong Kong’s courts, which have been accused of towing China’s line since it tightened control over the territory in 2019.

Hong Kong authorities insist the rule of law is intact, but critics point to the hundreds of protesters and activists jailed under the NSL, which has a conviction rate of nearly 100% as of May this year.

Bail is often denied in NSL cases, and the same was true in Rai’s case, despite rights groups and Rai’s children raising concerns about his deteriorating health. He was reportedly held in solitary confinement.

Sébastien Rai told the BBC earlier this year that his father’s “body was falling apart”. “Considering his age and health… my father will die in prison,” he said.

The Hong Kong government has also been criticized for banning foreign lawyers from participating in NSL cases without prior permission. Foreign lawyers have been practicing in city courts for decades, but they said it was a risk to national security. Rai was then denied the option of a UK-based lawyer.

Now Lai joins dozens of pro-democracy figures jailed by the NSL.

Hong Kong’s national security police chief told media after the ruling that Lai had “manipulated the news” to pursue “political goals.”

On the mainland, the state-run Global Times quoted a Hong Kong election committee member as saying the incident sends a “clear message” that “any attempt to divide the country or undermine Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability will be severely punished by law.”

Lai, who was born in mainland China, fled to Hong Kong at the age of 12 and founded Giordano, a global clothing brand, thereby establishing himself as an entrepreneur.

His journey as a democracy activist began after China brutally suppressed pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Lai began writing columns criticizing the massacre and went on to publish a series of popular pro-democracy publications, including Apple Daily and Next.

Even today, many Hong Kongers see him as a leading voice for democracy. About 80 people lined up to enter the courtroom ahead of Monday’s sentencing.

One of them was Mr Lam, who did not want his name published. With an apple in hand, she said the line started around 11am local time on Sunday, almost a day before the session. Because dozens of people came before her. It was a cold night, she said, but she did it because she wanted to wish Rye good luck.

“We all feel frustrated and helpless, but all problems must come to an end and it will come.” A former Apple Daily reporter and person who has appeared in court told the BBC.

“Jimmy has always said he is indebted to Hong Kong, but I think Hong Kong and most Hong Kongers are very grateful that he has come to uphold the core values, goodwill and integrity of the community, even at the expense of his own happiness and personal freedom.”

In his testimony, Mr. Lai said he had “never allowed” his newspaper staff to advocate for Hong Kong independence, describing it as a “conspiracy” and “too crazy to think about.”

“Apple Daily’s core values ​​are actually the core values ​​of Hong Kong people,” he said. He added that these values ​​include “the rule of law, freedom, the pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly.”