{"id":2521329,"date":"2025-12-15T11:51:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-convicts-hong-kong-activist-jimmy-lai-of-sedition\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T11:53:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T16:53:46","slug":"china-convicts-hong-kong-activist-jimmy-lai-of-sedition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-convicts-hong-kong-activist-jimmy-lai-of-sedition\/","title":{"rendered":"China convicts Hong Kong activist Jimmy Lai of sedition"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fchina-convicts-hong-kong-activist-jimmy-lai-of-sedition%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2521329&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Chinese authorities have convicted Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Jimmy Lai of sedition and colluding with foreign forces, intensifying Beijing&#8217;s crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous city. Lai,a British citizen and founder of the critical newspaper Apple Daily,has been detained as 2020 and now faces life imprisonment following a lengthy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/us-lawmakers-urge-to-sanction-29-hong-kong-judges-to-uphold-democratic-freedoms\/\" title=\"US Lawmakers Urge to Sanction 29 Hong Kong Judges to Uphold Democratic ...s\">national security trial<\/a>. The charges stem from his activism, including protests against a controversial extradition bill that critics said undermined Hong Kong&#8217;s legal protections by allowing extradition to mainland China. The UK condemned the conviction as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-says-biden-thugs-misfits-and-marxists-are-trying-to-destroy-american-democracy\/\" title=\"Trump accuses Biden and his supporters of attempting to ruin American democracy with &quot;thugs, misfits, and Marxists.&quot;\">politically motivated persecution<\/a> for Lai&#8217;s peaceful exercise of free expression, while press freedom organizations highlighted the ruling as a severe attack on journalistic freedoms. Lai&#8217;s health has reportedly deteriorated in prison, and his family and supporters call for his immediate release. The case exemplifies the broader erosion of Hong Kong&#8217;s autonomy and civil liberties under China&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-arrests-hong-kong-journalists-for-violating-law-that-was-praised-in-new-york-times-op-ed\/\" title=\"China Arrests Hong Kong Journalists for Violating Law That Was Praised in New York Times Op-Ed\">national security law imposed<\/a> in 2020.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">China convicts Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Jimmy Lai of sedition<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2443670\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\">Chinese<\/a> authorities on Monday convicted a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >leading pro-democracy activist<\/a> in <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hong-kong\/\">Hong Kong<\/a> on charges of publishing &ldquo;seditious&rdquo; material and colluding with foreign entities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Jimmy Lai&rsquo;s <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/HKSAR-v.-LAI-CHEE-YING-AND-OTHERS.pdf\">conviction<\/a> marks Beijing&rsquo;s intensifying crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong, which was a British colony until 1997. The Chinese territory had maintained a semblance of Western-style liberties and was noted for its semi-autonomous status, but it has in recent years been increasingly targeted by Beijing authorities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3917698\/jetblue-plane-near-venezuela-midair-collision-us-air-force-aircraft\/\">JetBlue plane near Venezuela &#8216;almost had a midair collision&#8217; with Air Force aircraft<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3917631\/australia-tighten-gun-law-bondi-beach-hanukkah-shooting\/\">Australia moves to tighten gun laws after Bondi Beach Hanukkah shooting<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3917609\/israeli-military-expansion-in-syria-raises-tensions\/\">Israeli military expansion in Syria raises tensions as they carve out a buffer zone<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Lai, 78, is a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/england\/\">British<\/a> citizen known for running the Hong Kong newspaper <em>Apple Daily<\/em>, which is recognized for being critical of China&rsquo;s ruling <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/communist-party\/\">Communist Party<\/a>. He has already spent nearly five years in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison after initially being detained in 2020.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Lai, who pleaded not guilty, now faces life in prison after the landmark national security trial concluded he was guilty of two charges of colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials under legislation from Hong Kong&rsquo;s time as a British colony.<\/p>\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/united-kingdom\/\">United Kingdom&rsquo;s<\/a> Foreign, Commonwealth &amp; Development Office responded to Lai&rsquo;s conviction by renewing calls for the law to be repealed as Britain condemned the &ldquo;politically motivated persecution&rdquo; of Lai, saying he had been targeted &ldquo;for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Committee to Protect Journalists said the ruling &ldquo;underscores Hong Kong&rsquo;s utter contempt for press freedom.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Jimmy Lai&rsquo;s only crime is running a newspaper and defending democracy,&rdquo; Beh Lih Yi, the group&rsquo;s Asia-Pacific director, said <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/cpj.org\/2025\/12\/cpj-condemns-hong-kongs-conviction-of-jimmy-lai-in-national-security-case\/\">in a statement<\/a>. &ldquo;The risk of him dying from ill health in prison increases as each day passes &mdash; he must be reunited with his family immediately.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Among other matters, China said Lai&rsquo;s protest in the United States against a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/1151258\/legislation-that-sparked-a-brawl-in-hong-kong-parliament-would-legalize-chinese-kidnapping-of-americans-dissidents-tell-congress\/\">controversial extradition bill <\/a>proposed by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region constituted a seditious criminal act that endangered national security.<\/p>\n<p>Lai was among the critics who raised concerns that the&nbsp;Extradition Amendment Bill, proposed in 2019, eroded human rights protections by allowing Hong Kong to send accused offenders to mainland China to stand trial. At the time, the activist <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/hongkongfp.com\/2019\/07\/10\/hong-kong-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai-meets-us-no-2-mike-pence-sec-state-pompeo-discuss-extradition-bill\/\">met with<\/a> then-Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-pence\/\">Mike Pence<\/a> and Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-pompeo\/\">Mike Pompeo<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. is worried that the &ldquo;lack of procedural protections&rdquo; in the bill could &ldquo;negatively impact the territory&rsquo;s longstanding protections of human rights, fundamental freedoms and democratic values,&rdquo; a state department spokesperson <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/a45e3e64-8bf2-11e9-a24d-b42f641eca37\">said of the<\/a> extradition proposal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Judge Esther Toh was one of three judiciary officials who released the lengthy ruling this week, determining Lai&rsquo;s actions amounted to efforts to &ldquo;help bring down&rdquo; the Chinese government by imposing sanctions, blockades, or other hostile measures, &ldquo;with the excuse of helping the people of Hong Kong.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There is &ldquo;no doubt&rdquo; that Lai &ldquo;harboured hatred&rdquo; for Beijing, Toh said, citing his &ldquo;constant invitation to the US to help bring down the government of the [People&rsquo;s Republic of China] with the excuse of helping the people of Hong Kong.&rdquo; Lai&rsquo;s &ldquo;only intent&rdquo; was to &ldquo;seek the downfall&rdquo; of the Chinese Communist Party, the government vetted judge added, &ldquo;even though the ultimate cost was the sacrifice of the interests of the people&rdquo; of China.<\/p>\n<p>Lai&rsquo;s family has warned that his health has rapidly deteriorated since the activist was <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/hong-kong-media-tycoon-jimmy-lai-arrested-top-aide-says-rcna73\">arrested in 2020<\/a>. Lai has lost some of his nails and teeth, in addition to monthslong battles with infections, back pain, diabetes, heart issues, and high blood pressure, they say.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Lai was detained after Beijing imposed a sweeping <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/world\/hong-kong-repeal-national-security-law-un-panel-says-rcna40384\">national security law<\/a> to crack down on Hong Kong&rsquo;s anti-government protests. The law, enacted without consulting the Hong Kong legislature,&nbsp;gave China broad powers to charge people whom it deemed a threat to the government&rsquo;s stability.<\/p>\n<p>Lai&rsquo;s son criticized the 800-page verdict on Monday, telling reporters in London that &ldquo;nothing&rdquo; incriminates his father and that the U.K. must &ldquo;do more&rdquo; to help the activist.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jimmy Lai&rsquo;s son, Sebastien Lai, and his international legal team hold a press briefing in London, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, following the verdict for Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai&rsquo;s national security trial in Hong Kong. (AP Photo\/Thomas Krych)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3914693\/ionic-mt-discovers-trove-critical-minerals-utah\/\"><strong>TROVE OF CRITICAL MINERALS DISCOVERED IN UTAH, AIDING EFFORT TO CURB CHINESE CONTROL<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is a perfect example of how the national security law has been molded and weaponized against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn&rsquo;t like,&rdquo; Sebastian Lai said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Before his arrest, Lai was recognized as the owner of Next Digital, which managed the <em>Apple Daily <\/em>and <em>Next Magazine<\/em>, among other publications. The <em>Apple Daily<\/em> was forced to shutter in 2021 after authorities raided its newsroom, arrested senior journalists, and froze the outlet&rsquo;s assets.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>China convicts Hong Kong pro-democracy leader Jimmy Lai of sedition<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2521331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25348133895375.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[14436,4501,38254,48598,67424],"class_list":["post-2521329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-activism","tag-china","tag-hong-kong","tag-jimmy-lai","tag-sedition-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP25348133895375.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2521329"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2521335,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2521329\/revisions\/2521335"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2521331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2521329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2521329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2521329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}