7 months ago
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Long-awaited verdicts successful Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s nationalist information proceedings volition beryllium delivered connected Monday (December 15, 2025), 1 of the city’s astir intimately watched rulings since its instrumentality to Chinese regularisation successful 1997.
Around 80 radical queued extracurricular the West Kowloon tribunal gathering astatine dawn, immoderate describing themselves arsenic supporters anxious astir Lai’s wellbeing.
“I truly privation to spot what’s happening with ‘the boss’, to spot if his wellness has deteriorated,” said Tammy Cheung, who worked astatine Mr. Lai’s paper for astir 2 decades.
The lawsuit has grown into a wedge betwixt Beijing and galore Western nations, with U.S.President Donald Trump reportedly calling for Mr. Lai’s merchandise during a gathering with Chinese person Xi Jinping successful October.
The Apple Daily laminitis has pleaded not blameworthy to 2 counts of “conspiracy to overseas collusion” nether the information law, which carries a maximum punishment of beingness successful prison, arsenic good arsenic 1 number of “conspiracy to people seditious publications”.
Mr. Lai turned 78 past week and erstwhile described himself arsenic a “born rebel”. He defied the Chinese Communist Party for years portion amassing millions from his covering and media empires.
He became a premier people aft Beijing imposed the sweeping nationalist information instrumentality connected Hong Kong successful 2020, a twelvemonth aft immense and sometimes convulsive pro-democracy protests successful the concern hub.
High Court judges Esther Toh, Alex Lee and Susana D’Almada Remedios volition statesman delivering their verdicts astatine 10 a.m. (0200 GMT).
If recovered guilty, Mr. Lai volition apt beryllium sentenced astatine a aboriginal day and tin appeal.
Beijing said Friday (December 12) it “firmly supports” Hong Kong successful “safeguarding nationalist security” from transgression acts.
Mr. Lai is simply a British citizen, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces unit from rights groups to unafraid his release.
Before Monday’s (December 15) verdict, different erstwhile Apple Daily worker surnamed Chan recalled that Mr. Lai wished for a “free and antiauthoritarian China”.
“He loved the state a lot, helium conscionable didn’t emotion the regime. (The situation) is absurd,” Mr. Chan told AFP outside court.
Health concerns
Mr. Lai has been jailed since December 31, 2020, and the authorities of his wellness is contested by his household and authorities.
He past appeared successful tribunal successful August, fitted with a bosom complaint show aft lawyers said helium had palpitations.
Mr. Lai gave spirited courtroom grounds and was speedy to respond to, and adjacent bicker with, prosecutors and judges.
His girl Claire told AFP last week that Mr. Lai, a diabetic, had “lost a precise important magnitude of weight” and showed nail and teeth decay.
The Hong Kong authorities said Friday (December 12) Lai has received “adequate and comprehensive” attraction and that “no complaints” had been raised.
Authorities besides confirmed that Mr. Lai had been held successful solitary confinement, but said that “has each on been made astatine his ain request”.
Sprawling trial
Prosecutors accused Mr. Lai of masterminding a conspiracy involving Apple Daily’s elder management, citing 161 items the outlet published.
Those items, which included op-eds with Mr. Lai’s byline and online speech shows helium hosted, were deemed seditious nether a colonial-era instrumentality due to the fact that they “excited disaffection” against the government.
Some of the items besides breached the aboriginal nationalist information instrumentality by asking overseas countries to enforce “sanctions oregon blockade” oregon instrumentality “hostile activities” against Hong Kong oregon China.
Mr. Lai was grilled for days implicit his governmental connections successful the United States, Britain and Taiwan, including a 2019 gathering with then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.
Prosecutors besides accused Lai of being the mastermind and fiscal backer of the protestation radical “Stand with Hong Kong, Fight for Freedom”.
Mr. Lai countered that helium had ne'er sought to power different countries’ overseas policies done his overseas contacts.
He besides distanced himself from unit and separatism, saying Apple Daily represented Hongkongers’ halfway values: “rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, state of speech, state of religion, state of assembly”.
Apple Daily was forced to adjacent successful 2021 aft constabulary raids and the arrests of elder editors.
Six apical executives were charged arsenic co-defendants and person already pleaded guilty.
