HKFP Live: Jimmy Lai sentencing – media tycoon faces up to life in prison after nat. security conviction

Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai will be sentenced on Monday morning following his conviction on collusion and sedition charges. The 78-year-old Apple Daily founder was found guilty in December 2025 of two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law, and a third count of sedition under colonial-era legislation. Lai will face judges – handpicked to oversee national security cases – at West Kowloon Law Courts alongside eight other co-defendants. He could be jailed for life. Refresh live blog for updates.

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10:05am: Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. Eighteen years of that sentence will be served consecutively with a separate case heard in the District Court. Read the full story.

Eighteen years of that sentence will be served consecutively with a separate case heard at the District Court.

Six former Apple Daily executives were also sentenced. Publisher Cheung Kim hung received six years and nine months behind bars, associated publisher Chan Pui-man got seven years, editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee was sentenced to seven years and three months, whilst editor-in-chief Lai Wai Kwong, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung and editorial writer Fung Wai-kong all received 10 year jail terms.

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10.04am: Court proceedings have begun. Jimmy Lai and other co-defendants entered the dock wearing a pair of thick-rimmed glasses and a white jacket. He smiled and greeted those in the public gallery with his hands clasped.

Judge Esther Toh says the reasoning for the sentencing is 47 pages-long. She will not read out the document in full, but it will be available to lawyers and the press and will be uploaded to the internet within half an hour of proceedings ending.

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9:30am: Lai’s wife, Teresa, and Cardinal Joseph Zen are seen outside the courtroom as lawyers and reporters are let in. Gradually, the courtroom is packing out.

Chung Pui-kuen, husband of ex-Apple Daily associate publisher Chan Pui-man, is seen among a number of former employees of the newspaper in the public gallery.

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9:15am: Members of the press are now being allowed to enter the court building.

Over 50 reporters from local and international media outlets have been queueing for the press gallery inside the courtroom, signalling the immense public interest in the case.

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8:55am: Matthias Kauffman, Deputy Head of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao, arrived with other consulate officials at the courthouse at around 8.40am to witness proceedings.

Kauffman said that his office had been observing trials in which activists and advocates had been prosecuted under national security legislation to “signal our interest” in such cases.

“Transparency and openness are vital parts of Hong Kong’s judiciary and trial observation is something we do all around the world. And we also do that today here for the Jimmy Lai trial,” he said.

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8:25am: Press arrangements on Monday have made it harder for reporters to interview court-goers.

Those queuing for a spot in the public gallery lined up around the courthouse, fenced off with orange tape. Reporters were corralled into a press area on the other side of the street, and were stopped by officers when they crossed over to the other side to conduct interviews.

Activist Lui Yuk-lin, who was queuing to attend Monday’s hearing, told reporters that some of her belongings had been confiscated by police officers, including a plush figure of Pepe the frog – an internet meme character that became a pro-democracy mascot during the 2019 protests and unrest – as well as a crocheted mandarin orange, a symbol of good fortune for the Lunar New Year.

“I don’t see how destructive a little toy can be,” said Lui. She added that she was told she would only be given her belongings back after the court session ends, or if she leaves the scene.

Lui, known as “Female Long Hair” for having similar political ideals to jailed ex-lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, was searched again minutes after speaking to the press. “Hand cream! A pack of biscuits!” she exclaimed, raising each item into the air.

HKFP also spotted activist Tsang Kin-shing “The Bull” being searched by officers.

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7:30am: An hour-long sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin at 10am. Around 100 people have braved the cold to queue for a public seat inside the main courtroom, where Lai and eight others – including six former Apple Daily executives and two former activists – will learn their fate.

Around 60 court-watchers have been queueing since last Thursday, including some former employees of Lai, who wished to show support to their ex-boss and colleagues in person.

“Mr Lai is a man of strong faith. I think he has no regrets or shame,” Ling, a former reporter for Next Magazine, a sister publication of Apple Daily, tells HKFP in Cantonese. “As for our colleagues, I only wish they can be released as early as possible. I hope they can be freed before the Lunar New Year,” she says.

Lai was found guilty of using his tabloid to lobby foreign nations to impose sanctions, blockades, or other hostile activities upon China and Hong Kong, as well as inciting hatred against them through 161 op-eds.

“I believe they must be very nervous, because they will know their sentences in a matter of hours,” Tammy Cheung, a former Apple Daily reporter for 16 years, tells HKFP. Cheung says at least a dozen former Apple Daily employees are in the queue, with many hoping to show support for their ex-colleagues.

See also: Media tycoon Jimmy Lai in ‘advanced years’ with multiple health problems, lawyer says in mitigation

The six former Apple Daily executives are: publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, and editorial writers Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee.

Cheung, Chan and Yeung previously testified against their former boss in exchange for shorter sentences. All six have been behind bars for over 1,600 days.

Two other co-defendants will be sentenced on Monday: Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah, both former activists linked to international lobby group Stand with Hong Kong. The pair also testified for the prosecution for lighter sentences.

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5am: A heavy police presence is on guard outside West Kowloon Law Courts Building, where Lai will be sentenced.

Court-goers at the scene tell HKFP that police officers detained a woman and brought her onto a police vehicle, after they found an Apple Daily keychain in her possession. It is unclear if the woman was arrested. HKFP has reached out to the police for comment.

Police officers have been recording ID card details of those queueing for public seats at Monday’s hearing. Those in the queue have been allowed to leave the line briefly for using the toilet and other personal needs.

However, at least five have been told by police they left for too long and were not allowed to return to their spots, according to court-goers.

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International attention: US President Donald Trump had said he felt “so badly” about Lai’s conviction and that he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, urging Lai’s release.

After Lai was found guilty in December, Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong described the court’s verdict as a “stern warning” to “anti-China” forces. Meanwhile, press freedom group Reporters Without Borders said the ruling showed an “alarming deterioration of media freedom” in the city.

Last month, Hong Kong’s top judge Andrew Cheung criticised the calls to free Lai, saying such a demand strikes “at the very heart of the rule of law.”

A Friday statement from the Committee to Protect Journalists said: “Jimmy Lai’s trial has been nothing but a charade from the start and shows total contempt for Hong Kong laws that are supposed to protect press freedom… Monday’s sentencing will go down in history as Hong Kong’s most shameful act of persecution of journalists and leave an indelible black mark on a city that was once the bastion of press freedom in Asia.”

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Welcome to the live blog: Jimmy Lai, 78, is the most high-profile figure to be convicted under the national security law, which Beijing imposed in 2020 following the pro-democracy protests and unrest in 2019.

See also: Who is Jimmy Lai?

He founded his popular Apple Daily tabloid in 1995 and had been one of Hong Kong’s most vocal critics of Beijing before his arrest in 2020. The media mogul has been in jail for more than 1,800 days.

Jimmy Lai trial timeline – click to view

August 10, 2020 – Police arrested Jimmy Lai on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces. Over 100 police officers raided Apple Daily’s offices.

December 3, 2020 – Lai was arrested for alleged fraud and denied bail.

December 11, 2020 – Lai was formally charged with “collusion with foreign forces,” becoming the first person to be charged with collusion under the national security law.

December 23, 2020 – High Court judge Alex Lee granted bail to Lai on conditions including that he stayed at home except for court hearings and reporting to the police.

December 31, 2020 – Lai was put in custody after the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) allowed the justice department to appeal against Lai’s bail.

February 9, 2021 – The CFA ruled in favour of the government and Lai’s bail was revoked.

February 16, 2021 – Lai was arrested in custody on suspicion of assisting Andy Li abscond to Taiwan.

February 18, 2021 – The High Court dismissed Lai’s bail application.

April 1, 2021 – Lai, along with six other pro-democracy activists, was found guilty of organising and taking part in an “unlawful assembly” in August 2019. He was later sentenced to 12 months in prison for this offence. Lai was cleared of the organising conviction in August 2023. The case is still under appeal.

May 28, 2021 – Lai, along with nine other pro-democracy activists, was sentenced to 14 months in jail for his “organising” role in a protest in October 2019.

June 17, 2021 – Police raided Apple Daily a second time, arresting five senior executives including chief editor Ryan Law and Next Digital CEO Cheung Kim-hung. Police also froze HK$ 18 million worth of assets linked to Apple Daily.

June 24, 2021 – Apple Daily issued its last edition after 26 years. Hundreds of supporters gathered outside its headquarters the night before as the tabloid went out of print.

December 13, 2021 – Lai, along with seven other pro-democracy activists, was found guilty for organising, taking part in, or inciting others to join the banned Tiananmen crackdown vigil in 2020. He was sentenced to 13 months in jail.

November 22, 2022 – Six senior executives of Apple Daily and its parent company Next Digital pleaded guilty to collusion.

November 28, 2022 – Chief Executive John Lee invited Beijing to interpret the national security law to determine whether foreign counsels can participate in national security cases, after the government failed to block Lai from hiring British barrister Timothy Owen.

December 1, 2022 – Lai’s trial was adjourned until December 13 while the city waited for Beijing to “clarify” whether overseas lawyers are allowed to appear in such cases.

December 10, 2022 – Lai was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in prison for fraud over a lease violation of the Next Digital headquarters.

December 13, 2022 – Lai’s trial was adjourned again until September 25, 2023.

December 30, 2022 – The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress confirmed that Hong Kong’s chief executive and Committee for Safeguarding National Security had the authority to decide whether overseas lawyers could take part in security law trials. 

August 18, 2023 – During a pre-trial review, Lai’s collusion trial was further postponed until December.

September 26, 2023 – Lai’s 1,000th day in custody. International groups called for his release, while the government slammed such demands as “slanderous.”

December 18, 2023 – Lai’s collusion case begins.

December 15, 2025 – Lai found guilty.

Monday’s sentencing comes over two years after Lai went on trial, accused of using his tabloid, Apple Daily, to lobby foreign nations to impose sanctions, blockades, or other hostile activities upon China and Hong Kong. He was also accused of inciting hatred against the authorities with 161 op-eds he allegedly wrote and published in the now-shuttered newspaper.

In December, three national security judges found Lai guilty on all charges. In the judgement, they said Lai’s intent was “to seek the downfall of [the Chinese Communist Party]” at the cost of the interests of people in Hong Kong and mainland China.

“This was the ultimate aim of the conspiracies and secessionist publications,” the judges wrote.