EU sees Jimmy Lai’s conviction as “emblematic of the erosion of democracy” in Hong Kong

Brussels – Jimmy Lai, a media entrepreneur and democracy activist in Hong Kong, has been found guilty of crimes against national security and now faces a sentence of up to life in prison. His court case—one of the most closely watched since the city’s return to Chinese control in 1997—is “emblematic of the erosion of democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Act in 2020,” said the European Union, in the words of the EU External Action Service (EEAS) spokeswoman. 

Lai, 78 and founder of the independent Apple Daily, had been charged with conspiracy to publish seditious material and conspiracy to collude with foreign powers. Prosecutors had accused Lai of using Apple Daily and its foreign political connections to pressure governments to impose sanctions on China and the Chinese authorities in Hong Kong. 

The charges had been identified under the controversial National Security Act introduced in 2020—following major democracy protests the previous year—and a sedition law dating back to British colonial times. After a trial lasting more than two years, the judges called him the mastermind of several plots to destabilise the Chinese government. The sentence will be set at a later hearing. 

Lai is already serving a five-year, nine-month prison sentence for a fraud conviction stemming from a breach of contract. In April 2021, he had been sentenced to 14 months in prison for organising two unauthorised protests in 2019. The following month, he was again sentenced to a further 14 months for participating in another protest, also held in 2019.

Several human rights associations and journalistic organisations rejected the verdict of the judges as a “fictitious conviction” and an attack on press freedom. In a note, the EU stated that the proceedings “are politically motivated” and called for the media tycoon’s “immediate and unconditional release.” According to the EU, national security prosecutions such as the one brought against Jimmy Lai—the Special Region government has already condemned several of the 47 pro-democracy activists accused of organising unofficial primary elections in July 2020—”further undermine confidence in Hong Kong’s legal system.” The EU reiterated “its call on China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) to honour their international legal commitments to safeguard fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”