Jimmy Lai Gets 20-Year Hong Kong Sentence for Sedition and Foreign Collusion
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 13
Jimmy Lai Gets 20-Year Hong Kong Sentence for Sedition and Foreign Collusion
13 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 13
Hong Kong courts sentenced 78-year-old media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison in February after convicting him in December of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.
The punishment is the longest imposed under Beijing’s national security law, which critics say has been used to silence one of China’s most prominent Hong Kong government opponents.
Claire Lai, his daughter, is urging President Donald Trump to raise the case with Xi Jinping during this week’s China trip, while more than 100 U.S. lawmakers have pressed for the same.
The U.S., UK and Canada have condemned the ruling, with London calling it a “death sentence” for Lai, who is diabetic, in frail health and reportedly held in solitary confinement.
Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, has been jailed since December 2020 as Hong Kong’s post-2020 security crackdown has narrowed space for press freedom and dissent.
If Jimmy Lai dies in prison, will he become a more powerful symbol for democracy than he was when free?
Can US diplomacy free Hong Kong's most famous prisoner when Beijing prioritizes national sovereignty above all else?
"Jimmy Lai’s 20-Year Sentence: The Harshest Blow Yet to Press Freedom and Civil Liberties in Hong Kong"
Overview
In February 2026, media mogul Jimmy Lai received a harsh 20-year prison sentence for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publish seditious articles, marking the toughest penalty yet under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. This verdict sparked immediate global condemnation, with the UN Human Rights Office calling it part of a broader repressive trend and Human Rights Watch labeling it outrageous. The case highlights the sharp decline of press freedom in Hong Kong since the introduction of the National Security Law in 2020 and further intensified by new security measures in 2024, signaling a significant erosion of civil liberties.