Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Convicted In National Security Trial. What Next?

Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was found guilty Monday on three national security charges, a conviction rights groups denounced as a death knell for press freedoms in the Chinese financial hub. Prosecutors said Lai was the mastermind behind two conspiracies to ask foreign countries to take action against Hong Kong or China, and accused him of publishing materials they said "excited disaffection" against the government.

The 78-year-old, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, now faces a maximum penalty of life in prison when he is sentenced. He can appeal Monday's convictions.

"There is no doubt that (Lai) had harboured his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years," Judge Esther Toh told the court, referring to the People's Republic of China.

"His constant invitation to the US to help bring down the Government of the PRC with the excuse of helping the people of HK would be analogous to the situation where an American national asks for help from Russia to bring down the US Government under the guise of helping the State of California."

Lai, wearing a light green cardigan and grey jacket, looked impassive as he listened to the verdicts with folded arms, and did not speak.

As he left, he nodded to his wife Teresa and his son Lai Shun-yan, who were sitting in the public gallery, an AFP reporter inside the court saw.

His defence lawyer Robert Pang told reporters as he left court that Lai "is in fine spirits".

Dozens of police officers were deployed around around the West Kowloon court in the morning, with an armoured car positioned nearby.

Consular representatives, including those from the United States, the European Union and France, were among those in attendance, as well as veterans from Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, including Cardinal Joseph Zen and former legislator Emily Lau.

'Death knell for press freedom'

The founder of the now-shut Apple Daily newspaper has been behind bars since 2020.

His case has been widely criticised as an example of eroding political freedoms under the national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.

"The predictability of today's verdict does not make it any less dismaying -- the conviction of Jimmy Lai feels like the death knell for press freedom in Hong Kong," Amnesty International said in a statement.

Reporters Without Borders called the "unlawful conviction" illustrative of "the alarming deterioration of media freedom in the territory", while the Committee to Protect Journalists called it a "sham conviction" and "a disgraceful act of persecution".

Beijing, meanwhile, said Friday it "firmly supports" Hong Kong in "safeguarding national security" from criminal acts.

Lai once described himself as a "born rebel" and defied the Chinese Communist Party for years while amassing millions from his clothing and media empires.

The 78-year-old is a British citizen, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces pressure from rights groups to secure his release.

Before Monday's verdict, another former Apple Daily employee surnamed Chan recalled that Lai wished for a "free and democratic China".

"He loved the country a lot, he just didn't love the regime. (The situation) is absurd," Chan told AFP outside court.

Health concerns

Lai looked thinner than when he first entered custody, and some of the dozens of supporters who gathered at dawn in front of the court expressed concern for his wellbeing.

"I really want to see what's happening with 'the boss', to see if his health has deteriorated," said Tammy Cheung, who worked at Lai's newspaper for nearly two decades.

Lai's family recently said he had lost weight and had visible decay to his nails and teeth since his long imprisonment.

His daughter Claire told AFP last week that Lai, a diabetic, had "lost a very significant amount of weight" and showed nail and teeth decay.

National security police chief superintendant Steve Li told a press conference on Monday that Claire Lai's concerns as to her father's health were smearing.

Authorities have said Lai was receiving "adequate and comprehensive" care, and that he had been held in solitary confinement "at his own request".

Sprawling trial

Prosecutors cited 161 items Apple Daily published in their case against Lai.

Those items, including opinion articles with Lai's byline and talk shows he hosted, were deemed seditious under a colonial-era law because they "excited disaffection" against the government.

Prosecutors also accused Lai of being the mastermind and financial backer of the protest group "Stand with Hong Kong, Fight for Freedom".

Lai countered that he had never sought to influence other countries' foreign policies, saying Apple Daily represented Hongkongers' core values: "rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly".

Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 following police raids. Six top executives were charged as co-defendants and have already pleaded guilty.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)