The son of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy Hong Kong media mogul handed 20 years in prison, voiced hope on Monday that US President Donald Trump can show Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that the sentence was a "mistake".
"The president interceding in my father's case will show Xi Jinping how much of a mistake it is, the persecution of my father," Sebastien Lai told AFP in London, where he lives.
"If he dies, many countries will be rightfully outraged, but also," he said, "there's no upside to what they're doing."
The elder Lai founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper which campaigned for democracy in the financial hub which Britain returned to China in 1997.
He was found guilty of collusion with foreign countries under a harsh security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 after it crushed massive pro-democracy protests.
His son said that the 20-year term was effectively a "death sentence" for his father, who is 78 and has faced a series of health problems.
"The Hong Kong government has essentially decided to destroy their greatest asset — their legal system — in order to vindictively go after my father," he said.
The tycoon is "a man who has committed no crime, a man who over the last few years and multiple show trials where they have found nothing — the only thing they came up with is this vague idea of colluding with foreign forces".
Trump has previously said he hopes to visit China in April, although no date has been confirmed.
While running for election, Trump had vowed to secure the release of Lai, who enjoys wide support in Washington both among democracy and media rights activists and among Christian groups as Lai is a devout Catholic.
The sentence of Lai, who only holds a British passport, comes little more than a week after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited Beijing.
"A lot more can be done," Starmer said of Britain's efforts on his father.
"There is a real test in this relationship. If they're not even willing to release my father, to put a 78-year-old man who's in very bad health on a plane," he said, "then it tells you all you need to know."
Hong Kong sentences pro-democracy mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in jail
Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 9, 2026 –
A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday for national security crimes, a punishment rights groups condemned as "effectively a death sentence" and a symbol of the city's shrivelling press freedoms.
Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty in December of collusion with foreign countries by urging them to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and for publishing "seditious" articles in his paper.
The 78-year-old's sentence is by far the harshest under Hong Kong's national security law, which Beijing imposed in 2020 after huge pro-democracy protests in the former British colony.
The three High Court judges said in a summary they had settled on 20 years' imprisonment "after considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai".
Lai, who has been behind bars since 2020, sat impassively in the dock as his sentence was read out. He waved to family members and supporters in the public gallery as he was led away.
His wife Teresa was grim-faced and made no comment as she left the court, but two of his children based abroad condemned the sentence.
Lai's son Sebastien called on US President Donald Trump to raise the case with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
"The president interceding in my father's case will show Xi Jinping how much of a mistake it is, the persecution of my father," he told AFP in London, where he lives.
The mogul's daughter Claire called it "a heartbreakingly cruel sentence" which, because of his deteriorating health, effectively meant "he will die a martyr behind bars".
Lai has 28 days to lodge an appeal, but his lawyer declined to say if he would do so.
The United States criticised the decision as "unjust and tragic," and reiterated its call for Lai to be granted humanitarian parole.
The ruling "shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms," said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.
– 'Appalling ordeal' –
Hong Kong's leader John Lee lauded the "severe" prison term, saying it "brings great relief to all" and demonstrated how the city upheld the rule of law.
Beijing also praised the outcome as "reasonable, legitimate and legal".
The commissioner of China's foreign ministry in Hong Kong wrote to foreign media outlets, including AFP, on Monday and urged them to "report on the case with objectivity and fairness, refraining from politicising legal matters".
Washington's reaction added to a chorus of international condemnation, including from the European Union, Australia, Japan, and advocacy groups.
"This verdict needs to be promptly quashed as incompatible with international law," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement that described the national security law as "vague and overly broad".
Human Rights Watch said the penalty was "effectively a death sentence" given Lai's age.
Jodie Ginsberg, the CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said "today's egregious decision is the final nail in the coffin for freedom of the press in Hong Kong".
Hong Kong most recently ranked 140th in the world for press freedom, down from 70th a decade ago, according to Reporters Without Borders.
– Health issues –
The three High Court judges described Lai, long a thorn in Beijing's side, as the "mastermind and the driving force" behind the conspiracies.
Two years of the 20-year penalty overlap with an existing sentence, meaning he will effectively serve another 18 years in jail. Lai would be 96 years old at the conclusion of the sentence.
Eight other defendants, including six Apple Daily executives, were handed sentences of up to 10 years in jail. All except Lai had pleaded guilty.
Lai has been kept in solitary confinement at his own request to avoid harassment, according to prosecutors.
His supporters, children, lawyers and rights groups have all raised concerns about his deteriorating health in prison, although authorities maintain he receives "adequate" care.
Eric Lai, a senior fellow with the Georgetown Center for Asian Law, said Hong Kong's legal system had become a tool for political control.
"After the regime's sustained effort to portray Lai as an 'enemy of the state', a reversal from the appellant court would contradict years of political theatre," said Lai, who is unrelated to the mogul.
Former Apple Daily reporter Tammy Cheung told AFP outside the court that she feared she "may never see Lai in person again".
"Even before this sentencing today, the industry was constantly self-censoring. Now after this sentencing, I think the impact it will have on this industry is quite clear for all to see," she said.
Retiree Lai So said there are "fewer reports on the negative side of society" since Lai's once-popular Apple Daily was shut down in 2021.
"The space for freedom of speech has shrunk a lot," So said.
Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media 'troublemaker' in Beijing's crosshairs
Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 9, 2026 –
A rags-to-riches tycoon, Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai is a self-styled "troublemaker" who has long been a thorn in Beijing's side thanks to his caustic tabloids and unapologetic support for democracy.
The 78-year-old was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison following his high-profile national security trial, an outcome a rights group branded "effectively a death sentence".
Lai told AFP in June 2020 he was "prepared for prison", where he has been held since late that year.
Those remarks came two weeks before Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the finance hub after huge, and sometimes violent, pro-democracy protests the previous year.
He was arrested under the new security law that August, fulfilling his prediction that he was a prime target for prosecution.
"If (prison) comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive," he said at the time.
Few Hong Kongers have generated the same level of vitriol from Beijing as Lai.
He is an unlikely hero for many in the semi-autonomous city: a pugnacious, self-made tabloid owner and the only tycoon willing to lampoon Beijing.
But according to China's state media, he is a "traitor", the biggest "black hand" behind the pro-democracy protests, and someone who conspired with foreign nations to undermine the motherland.
– Tiananmen watershed –
Lai rose from poverty, like many Hong Kong tycoons.
He was born into a wealthy family in mainland China's Guangdong province, but they lost their fortune when the communists took power in 1949.
Smuggled into Hong Kong aged 12, Lai toiled in sweatshops, taught himself English and eventually founded the hugely successful Giordano clothing empire.
His path diverged from his contemporaries when China sent tanks to crush protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.
He founded his first publication shortly after and wrote columns critical of senior Chinese leaders.
Authorities began closing his mainland clothing stores, so Lai sold up and ploughed the money into a tabloid empire.
Lai was the subject of other lawsuits, including one where he was acquitted of intimidating a journalist from a rival newspaper.
But his embrace of 2019's pro-democracy movement landed him in deeper trouble, and he was jailed for 20 months over his participation in some rallies.
An additional fraud case over an office lease added almost six more years to his sentence.
Those cases pale in comparison to the most recent sentences.
He was found guilty in December on two counts of foreign collusion, as well as one count of seditious publication.
Asked why he did not keep quiet and enjoy his wealth like Hong Kong's other tycoons, Lai said in 2020 he "just fell into it, but it feels right doing it".
"Maybe I'm a born rebel; maybe I'm someone who needs a lot of meaning to live my life besides money," he said.
– 'Delivering freedom' –
Lai also said then he had no plans to leave Hong Kong despite his wealth and the risks he faced.
"I'm a troublemaker. I came here with nothing; the freedom of this place has given me everything. Maybe it's time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it," he said.
Lai's two primary publications — the Apple Daily newspaper and the digital-only Next magazine — openly backed democracy protests in a city where competitors either support Beijing or tread a far more cautious line.
The two publications were largely devoid of advertisements for years as brands steered clear of incurring Beijing's wrath. Lai plugged the losses with his own cash.
They were popular, offering a heady mix of celebrity news, sex scandals and genuine investigations.
Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 after police raids and the arrests of senior editors. Next also closed.
Lai defended his paper during more than 40 days of spirited courtroom testimony.
"The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong… (including) rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly," he told the court in November 2024.
"To participate in delivering freedom is a very good idea for me," Lai said.
"The more you are in the know, the more you are free."
