Canada said it’s “upset” after Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced on Monday to twenty years in prison within the longest punishment given to date under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the town’s dissent.
Lai, 78, was convicted in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. The utmost penalty for his conviction was life imprisonment.
His co-defendants, six former employees of his Apple Each day newspaper and two activists, received prison terms of between 6 years and three months, and 10 years on collusion-related charges.
Lai smiled and waved at his supporters when he arrived for the sentence. But before he left the courtroom, he looked serious, as some people in the general public gallery cried. When asked about whether or not they would appeal, his lawyer Robert Pang said no comment.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand added Canada’s voice to the growing list of nations protesting the sentence, including the USA.
“Canada is upset with the sentencing of pro-democracy media figure Jimmy Lai today in Hong Kong,” she said in a press release posted to social media.
“Mr. Lai is 78 years old and ill and we call for his immediate release. Canada will proceed to support free and independent media worldwide.”
Lai’s daughter says he’ll die ‘a martyr’ in prison
The democracy advocate’s arrest and trial have raised concerns in regards to the decline of press freedom in what was once an Asian bastion of media independence. The federal government insists the case has nothing to do with a free press, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong.
Lai was certainly one of the primary outstanding figures to be arrested under the safety law in 2020. Inside a yr, a few of Apple Each day’s senior journalists also were arrested and the newspaper shut down in June 2021.
Lai’s sentencing could heighten Beijing’s diplomatic tensions with foreign governments, which have criticized Lai’s conviction and sentencing.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who is anticipated to go to China in April, said he felt “so badly” after the decision and noted he spoke to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about Lai and asked him “to contemplate his release.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Monday’s court decision “an unjust and tragic conclusion to the case” and urged Chinese authorities to grant Lai humanitarian parole, adding the sentence “shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those that advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government also has called for the discharge of Lai, who’s a British citizen. U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the prosecution “politically motivated,” saying the prison term is tantamount to a life sentence.
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In a press release, Lai’s son, Sebastien, said the “draconian” prison term was devastating for his family and life-threatening for his father. “It signifies the full destruction of the Hong Kong legal system and the top of justice,” he said.
His sister Claire called the sentence “heartbreakingly cruel” in the identical statement. “If this sentence is carried out, he’ll die a martyr behind bars,” she said.
Hong Kong leader John Lee said Lai’s sentence demonstrated the rule of law, citing his serious crimes.
“It’s bringing great satisfaction to the people,” he said in a press release.
In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Lai is a Chinese citizen and called him a serious planner and participant in a series of anti-China destabilizing activities in Hong Kong. He urged “relevant countries” to respect the rule of law in Hong Kong.
Judges ruled Lai was the mastermind
Lai founded Apple Each day, a now-defunct newspaper known for its critical reports against the governments in Hong Kong and Beijing. He was arrested in August 2020 under the safety law that was utilized in a yearslong crackdown on a lot of Hong Kong’s leading activists.
Of their ruling, three government-vetted judges wrote that the start line of Lai’s sentence was increased because they found him to be the mastermind of the conspiracies. But in addition they reduced his penalty because they accepted that Lai’s age, health condition and solitary confinement would cause his prison life to be more burdensome than that of other inmates.
“Lai was little question the mastermind of all three conspiracies charged and subsequently he warrants a heavier sentence,” they said “As regards the others, it’s difficult to differentiate their relative culpability.”
They took under consideration that Lai is serving a jail term of 5 years and nine months in a separate fraud case and ruled that 18 years of Lai’s sentence in the safety case ought to be served consecutively to that prison term.
Urania Chiu, lecturer in law at Oxford Brookes University, said the case is critical for its broad construction of seditious intent and application of the term “collusion with foreign forces” to certain activities by the media. The implication is especially alarming for journalists and people working in academia, she said.
“Offering and publishing legitimate critiques of the state, which regularly involves engagement with international platforms and audiences, may now easily be construed as ‘collusion,’” Chiu said.
Lai has been in custody for greater than five years. In January, Pang said Lai suffered health issues including heart palpitations, hypertension and diabetes. The prosecution said a medical report noted Lai’s general health condition remained stable.
The federal government said his solitary confinement was at Lai’s wish.
Co-defendants get reduced sentences
The previous Apple Each day staffers and activists involved in Lai’s case entered guilty pleas, which helped reduce their sentences Monday. They earlier admitted to the prosecution charge that said they conspired with Lai to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades, or engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.
The convicted journalists are publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, executive editor-in-chief chargeable for English news Fung Wai-kong and editorial author Yeung Ching-kee. They received prison terms ranging between six years and nine months, to 10 years.
The 2 activists, Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah, were sentenced to 6 years and three months, and 7 years and three months respectively.
The penalties for Cheung, Chan and Yeung, alongside the 2 activists, were reduced partially because they served as prosecution witnesses and the judges said their evidence had “significantly” contributed to the conviction of Lai.
Before sunrise, dozens of individuals stood in line outside the court constructing to secure a seat within the courtroom. One among them was former Apple Each day worker Tammy Cheung.
“Whatever happens, it’s an end — not less than we’ll know the end result,” Cheung said before the sentence was delivered.
Case considered a blow to Hong Kong media
Lai founded Apple Each day in 1995, two years before the previous British colony returned to Chinese rule. Its closure in 2021 shocked the local press scene. Hong Kong ranked one hundred and fortieth out of 180 territories within the press-freedom index compiled by media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders in 2025, removed from its 18th place in 2002.
Steve Li, chief superintendent of the police force’s National Security Department, welcomed the heavy sentence on Lai.
“Obviously, he has done nothing good for Hong Kong that might function a basis for his mitigation,” he told reporters.
The federal government said it would confiscate assets related to Lai’s crime.
Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Elaine Pearson said the tough 20-year-sentence is effectively a death sentence, calling it cruel and unjust.
Associated Press author Chan Ho-him contributed to this report. Additional files from Global News