Jimmy Lai GUILTY! What Happens Next Will SHOCK Hong Kong!

Hong Kong – In a landmark case that has drawn international scrutiny, media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of collusion and sedition under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law. The verdict, delivered Monday at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building, carries a potential life sentence for the 78-year-old Lai, whose final sentencing is slated for early next year.

Jimmy Lai GUILTY! What Happens Next Will SHOCK Hon...

Judges Alex Lee, Esther Toh, and Susana D’Almada Remedios handed down the guilty verdict, convicting Lai on two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and a third count of sedition under colonial-era legislation. The court also found Lai’s companies – Apple Daily Ltd, Apple Daily Printing Ltd, and AD Internet Ltd – guilty of conspiring to publish seditious publications and commit foreign collusion. It’s a sweeping judgment that effectively criminalizes dissent in a way that wasn't imaginable just a few years ago.

A mitigation hearing is scheduled for January 12, and it’s expected to be a tense affair. Lai, who has been in jail for over 1,800 days, observed the verdict with a somber expression, wearing thick-rimmed glasses and a green jumper. Before being led away, he managed a smile and a wave to the public gallery, where his wife Teresa, their son Lai Shun-yan, and Cardinal Joseph Zen were present. The scene was a poignant reminder of the personal toll this case has taken.

Lai's trial began back in December 2023 and concluded this past August after more than 150 working days. He was accused of leveraging his now-shuttered independent newspaper, Apple Daily, to lobby foreign nations to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. It’s a charge that has been vehemently denied by Lai and his supporters, who argue that he was simply exercising his right to freedom of expression.

Furthermore, Lai stood accused of inciting hatred against authorities through 161 opinion pieces published in his tabloid. The court, however, sided with the prosecution. Judge Toh described Lai’s testimony as “evasive” and “unreliable,” drawing a pointed comparison to an American urging Russia to overthrow the US government. The judgment, clocking in at over 850 pages, explicitly stated that Lai’s intent was “to seek the downfall of [the Chinese Communist Party]” at the expense of the people of Hong Kong and mainland China. Frankly, it's hard to imagine a more damning indictment.

The judges further emphasized that Lai's campaign for foreign sanctions persisted even after the imposition of the national security law in 2020. The case against Lai has been viewed by many as a bellwether for the future of press freedom and civil liberties in Hong Kong. The fact that the original reporting on this came from the Hong Kong Free Press only underscores the importance of independent media, even under the most difficult circumstances.

*This article was first published in Hong Kong Free Press on December 15, 2025. An edited version is republished on Global Voices under a content partnership agreement.*