Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai Sentenced to 20 years in Prison for National Security Offences

Jimmy Lai, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper gets a long sentence in prison under Beijing’s national security law.

Jimmy Lai, a British-Hong Kong businessman and politician was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison, after being convicted of national security offences, a decision that has triggered international criticism and increased attention to Hong Kong’s political direction. This is the toughest sentence imposed under the national security law, which China claims it’s crucial for the city's stability.

Jimmy Lai, a major pro-democracy advocate in Hong Kong, launched Apple Daily, one of the city's most well-known newspapers. During the large pro-democracy rallies of 2019 and 2020, Apple Daily emerged as an important outlet for alternative perspectives. After Beijing enacted the national security law in June 2020, Lai was arrested and charged the following August. Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 after authorities froze its assets, ultimately eliminating one of Hong Kong's remaining major independent newspapers.

Lai’s daughter, Claire Lai, said the punishment was “heartbreakingly cruel” given her 78-year-old father’s declining health with 20years in prison and warned that her father could “die a martyr behind bars” Human Rights Watch also put out a statement that a sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust and the length of jail time given to Lai is effectively a death sentence.

Three judges selected under Hong Kong's national security statute have presided over the trial, which officially started on December 18, 2023. Prosecutors accused Lai of exploiting his media platform and foreign political contacts, mainly in the United States, to push for sanctions against China and Hong Kong. In the landmark national security trial, Lai was jailed with eight other co-defendants, including two activists and six former executives from Lai's media organization. All eight pleaded guilty.

In December 2025, Lai was convicted of treason and conspiracy to collaborate with foreign troops. He pleaded not guilty to all allegations. Conspiracy convictions carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Taiwan, as well as press freedom and human rights organizations, protested Lai's punishment almost immediately. A number of human rights and media organizations objected to Lai's punishment and urged the governments of China and Hong Kong to release him.